Yesterday saw the sale of the 163rd edition of the Hospices de Beaune wine auction – the oldest charity wine auction – which delivered a total of €25.1 million including all the auction fees.

As last year, the previously covid-hit editions of the sale were forgotten as an audience 700 people, including the bidders, packed into the sales room in Beaune. Last year there was interest from 30 different countries – this year a mere 24 – but the sale still endured for 7 hours as three auctioneers worked in shifts to get through the 770 lots.

Whilst the headline is ‘only’ for the second most important total achieved, we should note that there was a modest 32 fewer barrels sold in 2023 – a small surprise when you consider that the average domaine made more wine in 2023 than in 2022 – but the triage of the Hospices was far from modest in 2023 and the wines will only benefit from that. Still, the average price per barrel (see the table below) was down about 15% vs last year making it only the third highest total – though nearly 50% higher than in 2020. The result of two consecutive ‘almost full’ vintages? Let’s hope so. Whilst this is, of course, a charity auction, another 15% lower next year would be a good indication to the market as the Hospices has long been considered the bellwether of burgundy’s market pricing – though that connection has been tenuous for a while!

2023 Pièce des Présidents
The Pièce des Présidents (Presidents’ Barrel), sold for €350,000 (before commission) to the owner of Château de Couches whose château is known as “Margaret of Burgundy.” The contents of this year’s barrel was part of the Hospice’s Mazis-Chambertin, Cuvée Madeleine Collignon – donated to the Hospices in 1976 by Jean Collignon, which was subsequently named in memory of his mother. As noted in previous entries before the sale, the barrel was made from the wood of an oak tree which was also used to restore the spire of Notre Dame in Paris and the barrel itself was made by the Tonnellerie Cadus.

A few stats

The hammer total for the 163rd Hospices de Beaune wine sale was €23,279,800 including the Pièce des Présidents. The vintage 21 and 22 totals (Sotheby’s) also include the President’s barrel – the earlier years’ values (Christie’s) are stated without including the President’s barrel. All the figures are ‘net,’ so without the respective auctioneers’ commissions.

*The 770 lots on offer comprised 753 barrels of red and white wines, 1 Presidents’ Barrel, and 16 barrels of spirits.

News from the BIVB:

The 80th edition of the Saint-Vincent Tournante de Bourgogne will be shared between the villages of Chambolle-Musigny (where the very first Saint-Vincent Tournante took place in 1938) and Morey St.Denis (where the 1952 and 1973 editions took place), will organize the 2024 edition.

The Grand Master of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin announced, during the 79th edition of the Saint-Vincent Tournante de Couchey, the location of the next Saint-Vincent Tournante, at the end of the ‘ceremony of enthronement’ of old winegrowers.

Last Sunday, the sale of the 162nd edition of the Hospices de Beaune wine auction – the oldest charity wine auction – delivered a total of €31 million including all the auction fees.

The last two years’ sales, which were affected by covid-restrictions and covid-postponements, were but a memory on Sunday as 700 people packed into the sales room in Beaune. Not only was the room full but the telephones were buzzing too – Sotheby’s indicating interest from 30 different countries – interest that endured for the whole 7 hours of the sale.

I could tell you that it was only a modest 8% increase* in the price of a barrel versus last year – but in Hospices de Beaune-land that’s nearly another €3k per barrel – and 20 years ago €3k was the average cost of a barrel at the sale! Of course, this is a charity sale that benefits all the healthcare users in, and around, Beaune and Nuits St.Georges – and so it was a great result for the local hospitals and care homes. The headline amount of the sale was simply a massive record a) because it was a very healthy volume – almost as high as the 2018 ‘record’ volume – but with prices that have doubled since that particular sale.
*But more like 12% if we were to include the ‘star lot’ – the President’s barrel…

This sale included two new cuvées: Corton Grand Cru cuvée Les Renardes, with 13 barrels sold for a combined total of €700,756, and Beaune Blanc 1er cru Clos des Mouches Cuvée Hugues et Louis Bétault with 5 barrels sold for a combined total of €235,440.

If the general market was looking for some softening of burgundy wine pricing – here was not the place to look. The wine merchants of Beaune were caught between a rock and a hard place – of course, happy for the hospital but also asking themselves how they will sell-on the wine from barrels they bought for themselves. Five barrels of Bâtard-Montrachet Cuvée Dames des Flandres sold for €324,000 each, not only more than double the pre-sale high estimate but also a price level usually reserved for the special charity barrel of the auction. In a show of solidarity the wine merchants of Beaune came together to purchase this special barrel – the Pièce des Présidents:

Image courtesy of Maison Louis Latour

2022 Pièce des Présidents
The special charity barrel of the 2022 Hospices de Beaune wine sale was sold for €810,000.

This barrel was bought by Maison Louis Latour and Maison Joseph Drouhin, with the support of the FNEB – the Fédération des Négociants-Éleveurs de Grande Bourgogne. The Latour and Drouhin families came together to dedicate this barrel to the memory of Louis-Fabrice Latour who passed away in September. The two families agreed in advance that they would pay €700k for the barrel with the members of the FNEB electing to top up that amount to cover the higher hammer price. The sale proceeds for this barrel always go to charities independent of the local healthcare system, charities which change each year – in 2022 the proceeds will go to the Princesse Margot Charity and the Vision du Monde Charity.

Almost secondary to the spirit of this purchase is the barrel itself: a blend of three of the Domaine des Hospices de Beaune’s terroirs on Corton, including Renardes, Bressandes and Chaumes. The cooperage of Maison Louis Latour produced the barrel.

A few stats

The hammer total for the 162nd Hospices de Beaune wine sale was €29,788,500 including the Pièce des Présidents; €28,978,500 excluding the Pièce des Présidents. Vintage 21 and 22 totals (Sotheby’s) include the President’s barrel – the earlier years’ values (Christie’s) are stated without including the President’s barrel. All the figures are ‘net,’ so without the respective auctioneers’ commissions.