2023-09-10 14:00:10
Nicolas Duclos, sommelier at the Le Grand Monarque hotel, in Chartres, in December 2022. LAURENT SEMINEL
On the Beauce plateau, Chartres Cathedral dominates the vast cereal fields. No vines on the horizon. However, the city where Henry IV was crowned has for decades been home to a beloved haunt of wine enthusiasts: the Le Grand Monarque hotel. Not only because this Chartres institution has one of the most beautiful cellars in France (30,000 bottles for 3,000 references), but also because the elegant residence on Place des Epars has established itself as a prestigious embassy of wines from Loire. Since 1983, the Paulée festive meetings have been organized there, an unmissable spring meeting for the best Loire winegrowers.
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Heir to the great tradition of provincial hotels, Le Grand Monarque is a small palace with ivory softness, which has continued to reinvent itself, under the leadership of the Jallerat family. A story that begins in 1968, when Georges Jallerat and his young wife, Geneviève, bought the house. Born in 1943, this son of farmers from Essonne left the family farm very early to try his luck in the restaurant business. The autodidact sets off on an adventure, from Paris to New York. On his return to France in 1967, he landed in Chartres, hired as a receptionist at the Le Grand Monarque hotel.
The last shovel in the wine press
A post house at the beginning of the 16th century, the establishment became a hotel house in 1634. Listed in the Michelin guide since 1900, the place has carved out a gastronomic reputation, notably thanks to its well-stocked cellar. But this historic monument is resting on its laurels. Full of interpersonal skills and conviction, Georges Jallerat persuaded the owners following a year to hand over the business to him.
The Jallerats are bringing the house back to life. At the beginning of the 1980s, the boss had the idea of highlighting Loire wines. At the time, this mischievous epicurean sympathized with the oenologist Jacques Puisais (1927-2020), famous apostle of food-wine pairings, whose training courses he followed. The latter suggested that he formalize his project into a Paulée of Loire wines.
Inspired by a traditional winegrower’s festival, whose name alludes to the last shovel of grapes poured into the press, the event consists of a celebration of the Loire appellations through their new vintage and a selection of winegrowers, shared between great figures and promising young people, highlighted by a meal (now prepared by stars such as Michel Troisgros, Pierre Gagnaire, Thierry Marx, Olivier Nasti, etc.). From 1983, this Rabelaisian moment enjoyed success, the continued growth of which cast a spotlight on the wines of the Loire as much as on the welcoming Monarque.
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