THE WINE AUCTION
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THE WINE AUCTION |
The Hospices de Beaune Wine Sale is the heart of a truly "Rabelaisian" festival in Burgundy. It is surrounded by all sorts of events : presentation of all the wines of Burgundy and equipment for the wine industry, tastings....
It is part of what we know as :
preceded, the day before by a chapter of the Brotherhood of the Chevaliers du Tastevin in the Chateau of The Clos du Vougeot and followed, the next day by La Paulée in Meursault.
This auction is the most famous of all the Burgundian festivals and forms the greatest charity sale in the world.
It dates back to 1859, the year in which 189 barrels of wine were sold. The total revenue being 19247.50 Francs. Since 1924 the auction has been fixed unalterably on the third Sunday of November and has become an annual gathering of wine professionals.
At the end of the vinification period, the management of The Hospices decides the quantity of wine which will be sold at auction. Each vintage or cuvée is divided into different sized lots according to the abundance of the grape harvest.
The price tendency shown by the bidding gives an indication of the general price movements for Burgundy wines.
Due to the charitable setting, however, the prices of the Grands Crus and Premiers Crus generally surpass the usual prices by a large margin.
The auction takes place on the Sunday afternoon in the covered market and proceeds every year under the presidency of a guest personality. The Mayor of Beaune, the administrators and the Director of the Hospices sit at the official tribune.
Since 1931, the sale of the Hospice wines is directed by an auctioneer-commissioner.
The old and picturesque tradition of bidding using candles has been preserved.
The bids are received whilst the two candles are burning and cannot be below 1000 F. In fact, the more or less brief duration of the flame is controlled by the auctioneer-commissioner according to the bids and only partially influences the sale : it is mostly a gesture of maintaining tradition.
The vintages are put up for sale one by one in the order shown in the catalogue.
During the sale the names of the buyers, merchants, restaurant owners and private individuals from the four corners of the world are written down on the proceedings, which will be edited later in the form of a catalogue giving the results of the sale.
All of the wines bought at this auction must obligatorily be put into traditional Burgundy bottles which will receive the labels provided by the Administration of the Hospices.
The name of the vintage and the year will be shown on these tickets, to which the buyer will add his own name and address.
The auction finishes with a great candlelit dinner in the medieval surroundings of the stronghold of the Hôtel-Dieu.
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Programme SATURDAY EVENING: The brotherhood of the Chevaliers Du Tastevin is the most well known and most lively of the bacchic organisations. Created in 1934 in Nuits Saint Georges, the brotherhood devotes itself to promoting the wines of Burgundy. It has its headquarters in the chateau of The Clos Du Vougeot, of which it is the owner and which the brotherhood restored in order to hold the prestigious chapters throughout the year. These chapters bring together people from all over the world and from every walk of life.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
MONDAY MID-DAY Meursault, "Capital of the Great White Burgundy Wines" honours this event every year since before the last war. An event which marks the end of the grape harvest by reuniting estate owners and their harvesters. La Paulée de Meursault takes place at mid-day of the Monday following the sale of The Hospices de Beaune. Each guest must bring his own bottles and on certain years it is possible to count more than 12 per square metre. The vigour and fullness of Burgundy are expressed freely during this joyful occasion.
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OF THE AUCTION |
HOSPICES DE BEAUNE WINE SALE 1996 |