Louis Le Conte becomes France’s Best Young Sommelier in 2025

hat started off as a group of 87 candidates at the national selections for France’s Best Young Sommelier on January 13 became just three finalists on June 16 at the Cité du Vin in Bordeaux. Louis Le Conte – a sommelier at Anne-Sophie Pic’s restaurant at the five-star Swiss hotel Beau Rivage Palace in Lausanne – came first with 133.5 points, ahead of Augustin Belleville (assistant head sommelier at the three-star Michelin restaurant run by the chef Yannick Alléno at the Pavillon Ledoyen on the Champs Elysées in Paris), who came second with 108.5 points. In third place was Noé Richard with 108 points. Richard is assistant sommelier at the three-star Michelin restaurant Plénitude run by the chef Arnaud Donckele at the Samaritaine in Paris.

Le Conte graduated as a sommelier in the Puy-de-Dôme area of central France and succeeds Marie Wodecki – head sommelier at the Saba du Clément Torres restaurant in Annecy – who won the finals in 2023, with Le Conte coming second. In 2025, he becomes France’s 35th Best Young Sommelier. Organised by the French sommelier organisation UDSF and open to all young sommeliers under 26, the next competition will be held in 2027.