THE HISTORY OF THE AUCTION
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THE HISTORY OF THE AUCTION |
The longest reign in the history of France.
By successive diplomatic marriages, by victories and annexations, the Dukes of Burgundy, since the time of Jean the Fearless, had constituted a vast zone of power, a jig-saw puzzle of different regions and peoples, enclosing the modest kingdom of France, from the North of Lyon to South of Amiens forming a semi-circular realm reaching as far as the North of the Netherlands.
It was the administration of this vast domain that Philippe the Good put into the hands of Nicolas Rolin at the beginning of the 15th. century.
Of the eighty-one years of his life, Nicolas Rolin spent almost sixty years in the service of the Dukes of Burgundy ; 20 years as a jurist and then as Chancellor. In the middle ages the Chancellor was a sort of "super minister" assuming the functions of Minister of the Interior, Minister of Finances, Minister of Foreign Affairs and others.
An excellent administrator and wise politician, he found how to free the Duchy of Burgundy from an English alliance. He was also one of the founders of the Treaty of Arras which reconciled France and Burgundy, putting an end to the Hundred Years War.
The Hospices de Beaune was founded in 1443 for the care of the sick, the needy and the old people of Beaune by Nicolas Rolin and his wife Guigone de Salins in the hope of helping the town and repairing the aftermath of the Hundred Years War.
Since 1971, after the construction of a modern hospital, The Hôtel Dieu became a museum which preserves a unique image of life and architecture of the middle ages despite the ravages of man and time. With its flamboyant gothic style, its roofing of multicoloured tiles, the triptych of The Last Judgement by Van Der Weden and the great room des Pôvres (the poor), this monument gives a glimpse of the face of the golden age of the region during the time of the great western dukes.
The flagship of tourism in Burgundy, the Hospices de Beaune welcomes more than 400,000 visitors every year.
In order to ensure the income of the Hospices, Nicolas Rolin endowed it with a heritage of land in the Côte de Beaune.
Five hundred years of donations and bequests have given the Hospices a total count of around 57 hectares of Grands Crus and Premiers Crus at the present time.
The running of the wine producing estate is conducted in such a way as to ensure, above all, the quality which gives the wines their fame. The production is entrusted to vignerons under contract and managed by the Hospices' Steward. The wines thus produced are subject to the same regulations as the controlled appellation wines. The reference " HOSPICES DE BEAUNE" and the name of the donor must also be shown on the labels.
From the estates contributing to its present fame. The Hospices produces prestigious wines, which according to traditions dating back to 1859, are sold by public auction, every year, on the third Sunday in the month of November.
THE BENEFICIARIES OF THE SALE
 THE WINE AUCTION |
THE HISTORY OF THE AUCTION |
 THE 136th. HOSPICES DE BEAUNE WINE SALE 1996 |