As promised (late) on Sunday evening, a little, more thoughtful analysis of the statistics of the 158th Hospices de Beaune, sale.

• Here is a list of the ‘top lots.’ (pdf)
• Whilst these are, at the outset, domaine wines, the sale should still be viewed in the context of a market where the bulk prices – at least at regional and communal levels – are beginning to soften: The softening is unsurprising following two vintages with a reasonable supply of wine, though with a backdrop of empty cellars. But given a market where demand exceeds supply for the highest value wines, we are unlikely to see a reduction in contract prices for those.
• It’s interesting that on the one hand the President’s barrel fetched only half the value of the previous year, yet on the the other hand the Côte de Nuits grand crus and particularly the Bâtard-Montrachet grand cru of the Hospices increase in price each year by leaps and bounds. The Corton grand crus never exhibit the same cachet.
• On a per barrel basis, the wine was still cheaper in 2018 than in 2015, but as you can see, roughly three times more expensive than in well-reputed vintages with a similar yield of barrels, such as 2005 or 2009.
• For a vintage where a lot of hype is building, equally interesting is that the price per barrel is relatively consistent with 2017 and still some way below the value produced by the 2015s.
• Given the vintage hype, it seems reasonable to attribute the higher barrel price (over 2017) to that, as opposed to irrational market exuberance, though the jury will be out for the best part of a year re the eventual quality of the reds and particularly the whites:
  

  Vintage Sale Total € millions* Price per barrel** Number of barrels ***2005 €3.79 million €4,803 789 2009 €4.99 million €6,250 799 2015 €11.3 million €18,880 575 2016 €8.4 million €13,833 596 2017 €13.5 million €16,657 787 2018 €13.95 million €16,850 828

  *Ex Christies, without commissions, the President’s Barrel, Marc de Bourgogne or Fine de Bourgogne…
  **Ex Christies, without commissions…
  ***I remember when I thought those prices very high!

I never taste the wines of the Hospices – I don’t consider them commercial and they are far too young for somebody (i.e. me) who habitually tastes wine just before bottling, to gain any more than a general idea of the vintage. I can wait…

But the buyers at the auction – it seems that they really couldn’t wait!

Let us remind ourself that 2018 has announced itself as exceptional – now that doesn’t mean that the wines will necessarily be great, though there are plenty of chances for that in red, though less-so in white. It seems that this was sufficient information for most of the buyers, because at just before 10pm the auction was, after nearly 7.5 hours finally over, the result – A New Record!

– Well, was there ever going to be any doubt?

The final result of this, the 158th Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction, was the delivery of a total value of €13,968,750 – last year, was also a record, bringing in €11,164,964. Later in the week I’ll do a little more thorough analysis. The prices started about the same as last year before the fuse was lit – here are a few highlights:

• The first barrel of Bâtard-Montrachet, Cuvée Dames de Flandres went for €135,000 that’s 17k more than last year, the rest of the barrels for €130k.
• So perhaps you’d prefer some cheaper white wine then? The Chablis 1er Côte de Léchet, Cuvée Jean Marc Brocard sold on average last year for ‘only’ €8,500, but this year it averaged out at a price of €14,500
• Four barrels of Clos de la Roche, Cuvée Cyrot-Chaudron were each hammered at €110,000 – they went for between €75-80k last year!

Of-course a new record value doesn’t mean so much if you don’t take account of the volume of barrels sold – and there were a lot this year – as noted, I’ll come back with more information after I’ve slept!

A little of the colour of the weekend:
 

Hospices de Beaune

High above the bidders, the spiders watch…

Waiting for action…