A native of Châtillon, Ugo Blondy was raised on the region’s classic wines (sancerre, pouilly-fumé, menetou-salon) by his grandfather who took him to visit wineries on the weekends. Some years later, after experiences working in wine tourism, the hospitality industry and a stint at the Institut des Vins de Bourgogne, it was his turn to open up a wine shop. Surrounded 300 of his carefully-curated labels (Guiberteau, Rocher des Violettes, Les Bérioles, L’Anglore, Les Marnes Blanches), he profiles local wines, like an organic coteaux-du-giennois from Florian Roblin (€15), or a natural chardonnay from the Domaine de Montaillant (€21). And he also proudly displays a selection of rare finds: a Yonne VDP by Raphaëlle Guyot, made using pinot noir grapes planted in the heart of Puisaye (€28); a nearly impossible-to-find Blanc de Noirs by Muriel Giudicelli in Corsica (€40); or a Côt du Quercy by Kevin Barbet, who practices polyculture farming, which is used less and less these days (€13.50). When asked what’s next for him, Ugo confesses to seriously considering making his own wine. // Adrien Nouviaire

THE BULLET-PROOF BOTTLE: A natural médoc aged in concrete eggs, made exclusively from merlot grapes, by the Château Peylaby (€16.50).