The traditional Hospices de Beaune (Côte-d’Or) wine sale on November 20 reached record prices. This is fortunate for the city hospital and the two associations between which the profits are shared, but also for the wines of Burgundy, whose resplendent health is thus confirmed.
Bids for 802 barrels of 228 liters each, from vines belonging to the hospital and from the September harvest, reached 31.3 million euros (with costs), to which must be added the “presidents’ coin”, containing a Grand Cru Corton, sold for 810,000 euros. This total product has more than doubled compared to last year. “Yes, but the number of pieces for sale has also almost doubled compared to 2021, and the quality of the juices is good”tempers Jasper Morris, Burgundy specialist and consultant for Sotheby’s.
Nevertheless, the profusion of barrels has not lowered the average price of each, on the contrary: it is up 8.2% compared to last year, above all, observes Jasper Morris, thanks to the large white wines, whose auctions have soared, and also some more affordable reds.
Scarcity drives up prices
Dealers are the main buyers, led by Albert Bichot: 111 pieces for 984,000 euros. “I was born at the Hospices de Beaune, and participating in this sale is a commitment for me”, explains Albéric Bichot, who runs the family business. The latter does not pay his bill alone, because – like all traders – he is mandated by many private clients, “happy to participate in the global effort and also to receive great Burgundy wines with personalized labels in their name, that of their restaurant or their company”.
If we first do a good deed by buying in Beaune, we hesitate all the less as Burgundy is on the rise. For Jasper Morris, the 8% average increase in the barrel illustrates the evolution of the price of bottles of Burgundy at the wine merchant, who, for several years, has been ” markedly increasing”.
In December 2021, when the 2020 vintage was put on sale, the winegrowers had increased their prices to compensate for its too low quantity. Without consumers reluctant to buy it. The same could happen this year with the 2021 vintage. “What I hear everywhere in the vineyard is that winegrowers are going to increase their prices even more”, confirms Jasper Morris. It will be necessary to see if a new increase will take place on the 2022 vintage, the quantity and quality of which are already assured.
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