Another shower of records at Hospices de Beaune!

Albéric Bichot, first buyer of the sale, speaks on behalf of the Burgundy négociants-éleveurs who purchased the charity piece for the sum of 810,000 euros.

"I feel joy, amazement and pride", said Ludivine Griveau-Gemma, manager of the Hospices de Beaune estate, at the end of last night's sale, and she can indeed be legitimately joyful and proud, since it is clear that the quality of her work played a major role in the incredible, "astonishing" result of this 162nd sale of Hospices de Beaune wines. "Stupefaction", "incredible", "unreal" were the words that came out of the mouths of the buyers, fellow journalists and observers we met yesterday afternoon in the Halles de Beaune, where all records were broken. Total proceeds from the sale of 802 pieces of wine came to 31.25 million euros (including Sotheby's fees, 29 million without), compared with just under... 14 million in 2018 for 843 pieces. If, in view of the results recorded in recent years and particularly in 2021 with 350 pieces of wine (nearly 12 million), this figure could be expected to be exceeded, no one thought that the average price of a 228-liter piece would increase to such an extent, since according to the press release received this morning from the Hospices themselves: "The average price including fees per piece, for both reds and whites, including the Presidents' Piece and spirits, amounts to €39,155, an increase of 12%/2021. The average price excluding costs for red and white wines is up 8.28% on last year (€35,974 in 2022, €33,223 in 2021)".

300,000 euros for a piece of Bâtard-Montrachet
The rise in prices was almost universal: while the grands crus were often the talk of the town, as in the case of the five pieces of Bâtard-Montrachet grand cru blanc purchased at 300,000 euros each by Lucien Le Moine and Bichot (for Chinese clients in the case of Bichot), the prices of many less prestigious cuvées also rose. To finish with the records, let's add that the charity coin sold for 810,000 euros, compared with 800,000 (previous record) in 2021, largely thanks to the two presidents, journalist and writer Flavie Flament and actor Benoit Magimel who didn't hesitate to come down to the room to relaunch one buyer after another; it was acquired by several trading houses grouped together for the occasion: Bichot, Latour, Drouhin, Jadot, Bouchard Père et Fils, Badet-Clément, Faiveley, Boisset, Patriarche, Chanson, Champy and Veuve Ambal. Through the voice of Albéric Bichot, one of his close friends, the Burgundy wine merchants paid tribute to Louis-Fabrice Latour, who passed away recently. Frédéric Drouhin, personally touched by a family tragedy and the loss of his daughter, also took the floor to emphasize the importance of supporting associations working in favor of children. The sum of 810,000 euros will be donated to the "Vision du Monde" and "Princesse Margot" associations.

1,750,000 hectolitres by 2022
Once again, we may well ask whether these results reflect the state of the (flourishing) market for fine Burgundy wines. The sale of Hospices de Beaune wines is undoubtedly a distorting mirror of this market, but to assert that it is totally disconnected from it would seem to us to be quite excessive. In 2021, a year of frost and small harvests (less than 1 million hectolitres), wine merchants, large and small, pounced on the small volumes available, resulting in an explosion in bulk prices, which often doubled or more, from regional appellations to grands crus. The 2022 vintage is shaping up very differently, with an abundant harvest (1,750,000 hectolitres), winegrowers who don't seem willing to lower their bulk prices, and merchants who are very cautious for the time being. In these conditions, will the rise in prices for Hospices de Beaune wines set the tempo for market trends in the weeks and months to come? Nothing seems impossible in Burgundy these days...

Christophe TUPINIER

Publishing Director