First run in 1938, the 65th Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges wine auction, on Sunday, raised €1,526,000 for the Hospices Civils de Beaune charity.

Despite lower prices for the reds, this total marks a 91.7% increase from last year’s total of €860,000 – no surprise given the paucity of wine from Nuits in 2024 – just 36 barrels were produced by the domaine in that year.

The auction sold 80.5 barrels (79 standard 228-litre barrels and one half-barrel – 79 of which were red and 1.5 were white) from the 2025 vintage. This 2025 volume remains below the historical average production by the Hospices, which is usually in the region of 100 to 150 barrels.

The bidding reflected the current market sentiment towards burgundy wines: The reds are still coveted but not to the extent of recent vintages – the barrel prices were down a little but sold easily. The reverse was the case for whites. Although there’s very little white wine in this auction (no surprise as Nuits has only about 5% white) the bidding was much more competitive and resulted in record barrel prices for whites – about one-third higher than last year and the average barrel price was double that of the reds !!

The event marked the passing of the baton from retiring technical director Jean-Marc Moron to Laurence Danel – Jean-Marc having been responsible for the last 36 vintages here.