Events

The 164th Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction

By billn on November 19, 2024 #annual laurels#events

Hospices de Beaune - 2024
Hospices de Beaune Wine Sale – October 2024

Sunday, November 17th saw the 164th edition of the Hospices de Beaune wine sale – the oldest charity wine auction – again under the auspices of Sotheby’s plus a cadre of national and international actors as cheerleaders for the sale. It delivered an overall total of €14.4m which includes the €460,000 raised by the ‘President’s Barrel’, this is the only lot in the sale that excludes a buyer’s premium fees. When including buyers’ fees, the total was €15.2 million.

164th Hospices de Beaune wine sale - 2024Without looking into the details of the sale, the total amount achieved by the sale was much lower than other previous vintages. It is, however, important to note that this was due to the challenges of the vintage producing one of the smallest crops in recent years – only 2021 was lower, see the table to compare below – just 449 barrels being offered in the sale. The average price of the reds did fall by around 5% but the price of the whites increased by 8%. This resulted in the 3rd highest average barrel price.

2024 Pièce des Présidents
The record price for a ‘Presidents’ Barrel’ was set in 2022 at €810,000, for a barrel of Corton Grand Cru. In 2023, the ‘Presidents’ Barrel’ – a Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru – sold for €350,000. This year the barrel contained a 2024 Beaune 1er Les Bressandes – and didn’t it do well – €360,000 plus a further donation from another bidder of €100,000 to support the twin charities* that were championed by its sale. This taking the final result to €460,000 !!
*Médecins Sans Frontières and the Global Gift Foundation

A few stats

The hammer total for the 164th Hospices de Beaune wine sale was €14,404,200 including the Pièce des Présidents. So how does this sale compare? Since the vintage 2021, the 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.

VintageSale Total € millionsPrice per barrelNumber of barrels
2005€3.79 million€4,803789
2009€4.99 million€6,250799
2015€11.3 million€18,880575
2016€8.4 million€13,833596
2017€13.5 million€16,657787
2018€13.95 million€16,850828
2019€12.28 million€21,823589
2020€12.76 million€21,677630
2021€11.68 million€33,223352
2022€29.79 million€35,974802
2023€23.28 million€30,233770
2024€14.404 million€32,080449*

*The 449 lots on offer comprised 441 barrels of red and white wines, 1 Presidents’ Barrel, and 7 barrels of spirits.

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The 76th Chablis Wine Festival

By billn on September 06, 2024 #events

From the BIVB:

76th Chablis Wine Festival – October 26 and 27, 2024

Celebrate the new vintage with the winemakers from Chablis and Grand Auxerrois!

The Chablis Wine Festival is a major event of the year. More than 6,500 people are expected in the center of the village to celebrate the new vintage. On this occasion, around forty winemakers from Chablis and the Grand Auxerrois come together to share their know-how and introduce their wines through free tastings all weekend long.

Organised by the Office du Chablis in partnership with the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne ( BIVB ), the Fête des Vins de Chablis is constantly evolving to offer an ever more friendly and festive event with numerous activities!

www.fetedesvinsdechablis.fr

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Hospices de Nuits St.Georges – their 63rd wine auction – the 2023s

By billn on March 11, 2024 #events#in case you missed it#warning - opinion!

March 2024 – Hospices de Nuits wine auction
March 2024 – Hospices de Nuits wine auction
March 2024 – Hospices de Nuits wine auction
Images Sunday 10th March – in the Clos de Vougeot

Yesterday, Sunday 10th March, for the first time since the auction moved to the Clos de Vougeot, I went along to the wine auction of the Domaine of the Hospices de Nuits.

Sales prices were a little down – but that’s the global market. By the end of the sale, the organisers could make some nice quotes and all the wines were sold – it was a good total for the organisation and the local charities linked to the sale – so well done for them.

The first lots were three barrels of 1er Les Murgers – one of the smallest cuvées of the Hospices – €20,000, then €21,000, the €18,000 were the winning bids – the latter a possible bargain for Domaine Henri Gouges. The villages wine that followed started at €10k slowly dropping to 8.5k then further to 8k – but this buyer took 4 barrels! For the next barrels of villages there was some discussion as there were no takers at the starting price of 7k – eventually the bid was ‘won’ at 6k but they – it was Bichot – took 5 barrels. Another winning bid of 6k came – this time the buyer taking 4 barrels – Boisset in this case.

The following lots brought the return to 1er crus and the next lot of Porrets St.Georges made 16k. The buyers were present but, it seemed, reticent – and so it continued.

The final result registered a total of 2,281,500 Euros, this was the third highest in the history of the Hospices de Nuits St.Georges – though behind that total was quite the large number of barrels in this vintage which masked a little the effect of lower prices.

The Pièce de Charité, known as the “Cuvée des Bienfaiteurs”, did indeed achieve a new record bid of €68,330 for the benefit of the Clément-Drevon Foundation – a medical research organisation. Also setting a new record was (in only it’s second appearance!) the Cuvée Hugues Perdrizet Nuits St.Georges 1er Cru Les St.Georges Vieilles Vignes which attained a winning bid of €60,000.

I remain convinced that the way forward for maximum returns for the Domaine of the Hospices de Nuits wines will be best developed if brought together in same sale as that of the Domaine of the Hospices de Beaune – it would be a win-win, I’m sure. But today, this is what we have…

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Saint Vincent !!

By billn on December 16, 2023 #events

It’s that time again – almost!

La Saint-Vincente Tournante 2024
This time hosted by Chambolle-Musigny & Morey St.Denis – this will be the 80th edition of this event.

If you enjoy a walk in the cold and rain (typically) but with a glass in your (shivering!) hand and the smell of thousands of garlic-snails – then this is for you.

Set your agenda for the 27th and 28th January 2024. The last time the ‘Tournante’ was held in CHambolle-Musigny was in 1979 – for Morey St.Denis they’ve had to wait since 1973 !!

They have a particularly good website this year too: www.saintvincent2024.fr

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The 163rd Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction

By billn on November 20, 2023 #annual laurels#events

Hospices de Beaune - October 2023
Hotel Dieu, Beaune – October 2023

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.

VintageSale Total € millionsPrice per barrelNumber of barrels
2005€3.79 million€4,803789
2009€4.99 million€6,250799
2015€11.3 million€18,880575
2016€8.4 million€13,833596
2017€13.5 million€16,657787
2018€13.95 million€16,850828
2019€12.28 million€21,823589
2020€12.76 million€21,677630
2021€11.68 million€33,223352
2022€29.79 million€35,974802
2023€23.28 million€30,233770*

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

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Jasper – the Hospices – Jeannie

By billn on November 18, 2023 #events

I heard a little news:

“Jasper Morris MW to Step Down as Consultant for the Annual Hospices de Beaune Wine Sale and Jeannie Cho Lee MW to Pick Up the Mantle from 2024 Onwards…”

I’m sure there will be more info ensuing… [Edit – the following:]

“Stepping into Jasper’s shoes is the award-winning author, television host, editor, wine critic, judge and educator, Jeannie Cho Lee MW. In her role, Jeannie will conduct tastings for the Hospices de Beaune wines, join Ludivine during the harvest, and participate in tastings and dinners around the world.

“Jeannie’s traditional Korean upbringing meant venturing into the wine industry was not an option she considered whilst a university student, but she found herself venturing into the wine industry, first as a writer, then an author and later as a wine critic, editor, publisher and finally in 2008, becoming the first Asian Master of Wine. She holds a Master’s degree from Harvard University in Public Policy as well as a doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in marketing and branding from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where she is currently a Professor of Wine at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, a position she has occupied for more than 10 years. Since 2009, Jeannie has been a wine consultant to Singapore Airlines.

“Jeannie started to give ratings to wine in 1992 when she began writing her wine diaries and she has since gone on to publish three award-winning books – Asian Palate, Mastering Wine, and The 100 Burgundy, which won the 2020 Gourmand Award for Best Wine Book in the World for French wines. Recognised for her contributions to the food and wine industry, she was honoured as a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (a Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honour) by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2021.”
Sotheby’s

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The 163rd Hopsices de Beaune Wine Auction

By billn on September 19, 2023 #events#vintage 2023

163rd Hospices de Beaune wine auction

The 163rd Hospices de Beaune wine auction will be held on Sunday, November 19 2023, in the Halles de Beaune from 14h30. The sale is emblematic of the region and, in particular, of Beaune. The domaine of the Hôtel Dieu covers an enviable 60 hectares of vines, the result of 600 years of donations which have traversed the centuries under this ownership model.

Today was the first of a number of press events for the forthcoming sale, held in the Hotel Dieu itself. Here I offer you some of the vintage notes of Ludivine Griveau – given the geographic extent of her 120 parcels, her insight is first-class:

Vintage Comments by Ludivine Griveau:

“We worked through 12 days of heatwave in this harvest. The heterogeneity is impressive – some cuvées we are treating like those of a heatwave vintage – but others not – even from the same appellation. 12.6° is our starting point up to about 13.4° – all natural. You could even sometimes find rosé grapes but also shrivelled. Right now, I have the impression that I have multiple vintages in the cellar – it’s a difficult vintage to define at this early stage.

“This was the third year of our certification to organic viticulture. Not a conversion to understate with 60 hectares spread over a wide geography and 120 parcels! A year with 11 treatments – which is quite a lot – but only with contact products based on copper and or sulfur. Our treatments were roughly every 7 to 9 days. We plan to label the wines AB in the 2024 vintage.

“The winter was not so cold and it was rather dry – there was a deficit of rain. No frost. Spring was much wetter and cold for April with less sun than average. The summer had a number of storms and 11 July brought some hail – significantly for us in Meursault Les Genevrières. From the perspective of the vines, it was still a little too dry. The vine growth started quite heterogeneous including the flowering that followed too, despite quite good flowering conditions. The growth that followed was associated with a high pressure of maladies – oïdium and mildew – that’s why we had 11 treatments.

“Our harvesting started 6th September in the Mâconnais, finishing the last of our vines on the 19th (today!) in the Côte de Beaune including some St.Romain. Because of the heat, we started harvesting early in the morning and finished early too – we needed a refrigerated truck at the winery to ensure that we could work with cool grapes.

“It’s historically, still a very early vintage. We can say that it’s a vintage with plenty of fruit – this for the second consecutive year. Averagely clean – we did green harvesting in 9 of our 60 hectares – not something we’ve done for at least 15 years in the domaine. Triage was severe – in the vines and then again at the winery. We started harvesting with the chardonnay and it was the whites that got through the harvest-time heatwave the best. In both colours, we had beautiful fruit but also not-so-beautiful fruit – that’s why we had to be so selective. 50 hectares were harvested in just 9 days. The colours and polyphenols of the reds are extracting very easily, such that there are many parallels to 2022 and whilst we had a little more volume of grapes than in 2022 we will make less wine – that’s because of the severe selection and using no stems. Our volume of whites will also be slightly down due to hail in our Meursault Genevrières.

“The ancients used to say that if you have a year with a lot of verjus the year that follows will be generous: We had lots of verjus in 2022 and we clearly have a generous 2023 – but in 2023 there’s very little verjus!”

The Pièce de Charité:
The most prestigious barrel in the sale.

Ludivine confirms that they already know what wine will be in this specially crafted barrel – but they are not yet saying!

This year the barrel is the result of a partnership between the cooper Cadus – producers of 18-20,000 barrels per year – and the family suppliers of an oak from the Vibraye forest – a family that have owned and worked this particular forest since 1510 – almost as long as the Hospices has existed. Vibraye is situated between Le Mans and Orléans. The oaks from this place are being used in the restoration of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris where the requirement is for trees with 15.5 metres in length. One (special) tree had a length of 19.5m – it is the remaining portion of this roughly 220-year-old tree that has been used to make the barrel.

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75th Chablis Wine Festival – October 21 & 22, 2023

By billn on September 09, 2023 #events

75th Fête de Chablis

Press Release:

Celebrate the new vintage with the winegrowers of Chablis and Grand Auxerrois!

Organized by the Office du Chablis in partnership with the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (BIVB) the Chablis Wine Festival is a major event of the year combining discoveries and tastings.

About forty winegrowers from Chablis and Grand Auxerrois will be present all weekend on the boulevard du Docteur Tacussel (in Chablis town centre). Amateurs, connoisseurs, professionals and the general public will be able to taste wines from different appellations and vintages on the stands.

IN THE PROGRAM:

Tastings of wines and also local products, walks, activities, meetings with professionals…

The traditional parade of the Confrérie des Piliers Chablisiens will be held on Sunday morning. Accompanied by the Godfather and Godmother of the 2023 vintage, the President of the Wine Festival, the officials and the “Les Enfants de Chablis” brass band.

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Visitor programmes – the Cités du Vin

By billn on July 14, 2023 #events

For visitors to any, or all, of the three new sites, there’s an outline programme of events that’s been released, so from the BIVB:

Following the opening of the Cités in Mâcon (3rd May) and Chablis (17th May), and soon that of Beaune (17th June), the time has come for the Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne to lift the veil on its summer programme. Whether with family or with friends, for relaxation or a learning experience, this inaugural season’s rich and varied programme offers something for everyone.

CHABLIS
GUIDED TOURS
Scenographic tour : 10.30 a.m., Sundays 4th June, 2nd July, 16th July, 30th July, 13th August and 27th August

KIDS’ ACTIVITY
Plant prints: Saturday 3rd June – 3 p.m

FAMILY ACTIVITY
Land art: Saturday 1st July – 3 p.m

AFTER-WORK: The 1st Thursday of each month
Wine and cheese: Thursday 1st June – 6.30 p.m
Wine and street art: Thursday 6th July – 6.30 p.m
Organic wines and vegetarian nibbles: Thursday 3rd August – 6.30 p.m

MÂCON
GUIDED TOURS
Scenographic tour : every Sunday – 10.30 a.m
The time modeller by Thomas Volatier: Tuesday 15th August – 3 p.m

FAMILY ACTIVITY
Little excavators: Saturday 3rd June – 2 p.m

KIDS’ ACTIVITY
Everyone on site: Saturday 3rd June – 3.30 p.m

AFTER-WORK: The 1st Thursday of each month
Wine and cheese: Thursday 1st June – 6.30 p.m
Wine and street art: Thursday 6th July – 6.30 p.m
Organic wines and vegetarian nibbles: Thursday 3rd August – 6.30 p.m

BEAUNE
GUIDED TOURS
Scenographic tour: 24th and 25th June, and every day in July and August – departure of the visit at 10.30 a.m. or 4 p.m
The architecture of the Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne: Sunday 2nd July and Sunday 6th August – 10.30 a.m
The time modeller by Thomas Volatier: Sunday 23rd July and Sunday 20th August – 10 a.m

FAMILY ACTIVITIES

A MONTH ESPECIALLY DEDICATED TO THE CLIMATS 2023 – UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE
Tales of the Climats: Wednesday 5th July – 10 a.m
The Climats as a pop-up map: Wednesday 12th July and Wednesday 23rd August – 3 p.m

The secrets of fossils!: Wednesday 19th July and Wednesday 16th August – 3 p.m
Create your own birdhouse and bird feeder: Wednesday 26th July and Wednesday 9th August – 3 p.m
Build your own shield and create your coat of arms!: Wednesday 2nd and 30th August – 3 p.m

ADULTS’ OENOCULTURAL ACTIVITIES
The beauty secrets of grapes: Saturday 24th June – 3 p.m
Wine and perfume: Saturday 8th July – 3 p.m

AFTER-WORK: The 1st Thursday of each month
Wine and street art: Thursday 6th July – 6.30 p.m
Organic wines and vegetarian nibbles: Thursday 3rd August – 6.30 p.m

WORKSHOPS AND WINE TASTING COURSES given by the Ecole des Vins de Bourgogne
New – Wine tasting courses 45’ : every day
New – Training course Bourgogne Grand Crus : Saturday 8th July – 9.30. a.m
Stroll and taste among the vines : Saturday 22nd et 26th – 4p.m

PHOTOGRAPHY SEASON

For its inaugural summer season, the Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne in Beaune is introducing a photo season, to help visitors discover photographers with unique and varied styles! Exhibitions are free and with unlimited access during the Cité’s opening hours:
Eléonore Parc: from 1st to 30th July
Côte d’Or Pix: from 1st August to 3rd September

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
For programme details and prices, go to:
WWW.RESERVATION.CITECLIMATSVINS-BOURGOGNE.COM (French right now…)

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