Hospices of Beaune : Destination Mars!

Many Burgundians, winegrowers, merchants, encountered yesterday afternoon under the market halls of Beaune They secretly hoped for stable prices, but no such luck! With a total turnover of €18,384,100 (for 539 228-liter barrels and spirits), the 2025 edition ranks third among the most lucrative sales in the history of the Hospices de Beaune But the most important indicator remains the average price of the 228-liter unit, which has skyrocketed in rouge , +14.46% and in blanc , +12.99%.

In any case, these results show that wine sales are more than ever out of touch with market realities. It has become a place where a few wealthy "collectors", who probably don't know what to do with their money, fight over grands crus barrels (400,000 euros for the Bâtard, 120,000 euros minimum for a barrel of grand cru , with the exception of the Cortons) and prestigious premiers crus, while turning up their noses at "modest" cuvées where prices have often fallen or stagnated. All this, against a very tense national and international backdrop for the wine market, marked by a deep crisis in many French and foreign wine-growing regions, with Burgundy relatively unscathed for the moment. Relatively...

A degree of irrationality

If the Hospices of Beaune Therefore, each year they increasingly take on the appearance of UFOs on the wine planet, for several reasons: the prestige of the flagship appellations ( Bâtard -Montrachet, Clos of La Roche, Echezeaux , Mazis -Chambertin, Clos of Vougeot Cortons, Meursault premier cru The Charms, Pommard premier cru Les Epenots…), the quality of the work done by Ludivine Griveau, the estate manager. It is also said that Sotheby's has raised the bar even higher after Christie's in the international promotion of Hospices de Beaune wines. Beaune , but there is also an element of irrationality behind all of this.

Why buyers, increasingly from Asia or other countries, are willing to pay tens or even hundreds of thousands of euros – much, much more than normal market prices – to buy wines that will help finance a French hospital remains a mystery.

Yesterday, some wondered whether all consumers, who sometimes find Burgundy wines a bit expensive, would be delighted to learn the auction results and to find out the average price of a barrel of wine rouge The price of the Hospices is now set at €27,488 (€95.44 per bottle, not including additional costs: commissions, aging and bottling costs…) and that of the white wines at €59,117 (€205.267 per bottle…).

In short, does this give Burgundy wines a good image? It's hard to say, but for the sake of argument, let's remember that average prices for Burgundy wines are considerably lower than those charged by the Hospices de Beaune for equivalent appellations. The proceeds from the sale will go to the Beaune hospital, and the 400,000 euros paid by Zhongliang Li, a Chinese industrialist in the domaine artificial intelligence for the medical sector, to purchase the Presidents' room, will go to the "Enfance et Handicap en Côte-d'Or association" (childhood and disability)and the Institut "Robert Debré du cerveau de l'enfant" (child brain research).

Bichot still and always the first buyer of the sale

There Maison Albert from Beaune Bichot interview with the Hospices of Beaune An unbreakable bond, founded on transmission and respect for the land. This year again, it stands out as the leading buyer at the auction, with 85.5 barrels acquired for a total of €4,516,500, including 22 barrels of Grand Cru red and white wines, representing 25% of the total sale amount and 16% of the total volume. "We are proud to perpetuate this tradition and to contribute, through our purchases, to the preservation of a wine and hospitality heritage unique in the world," emphasizes Albéric. Bichot “We were fortunate enough to acquire several iconic pieces, including a Bâtard -Montrachet grand cru "Dames de Flandres achieved a record purchase price of €400,000. The wines from the sale will be added to our cellars to be aged with the utmost care."
THE Domaine Hospices of Beaune officially converted its 60-hectare vineyard to organic farming in 2024. This is an approach shared by the Maison Albert Bichot , a pioneer in this field with five of its six estates certified organic and a sustainable approach applied to all of its activities

Christophe TUPINIER

Publishing Director