2023-11-18 09:50:09
Published on Nov 18, 2023 at 8:50 a.m.
Beaune is hosting its 163rd Hospices wine sale on Sunday, considered the largest wine charity sale in the world, and chaired this year by Thierry Lhermitte. The 2022 vintage saw a record of 29 million euros excluding hammer costs (32 million in total) so the bar is high.
And it is the world leader in wine auctions, Sotheby’s, which will bring down the hammer. The 60-hectare Hospices estate, in the third and final year of organic conversion, will offer 51 vintages at auction, and the sums collected are intended to make structural investments for the benefit of the hospital. No less than 753 pieces of wine will be dispersed, including 574 red wine and 179 white wine.
Burgundy in the spotlight
The charity piece known as “the Presidents” is a Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru, whose barrel was made from the wood of an oak tree also used for the restoration of the spire of Notre Dame in Paris. This lot will be sold for the benefit this edition of the Foundation for Medical Research and the Initiative for Research on Longevity in Good Health association.
It is on Burgundy wines that Sotheby’s has made the most progress over the last decade: with Beaune, they represented half of its sales in 2022. These figures are part of a context of global sales of wines and spirits very profitable last year for Sotheby’s, with a record of 158 million dollars, exceeding that of the previous year by 132 million dollars (an increase of 20%).
Growth industry
In France, wine auctions were generally generous for all players in 2022. According to the report of the Sales Council, the total amount of Wines & Alcohols sold stood at 112.2 million euros, up by 49% compared to 2021 and 140% compared to 2019. In 2020, this Wines & Alcohols segment was the only one to see its amount remain stable despite the pandemic. Since 2014, the progression has been 347%.
This is reflected in the auctions of Sotheby’s France, 35 million (excluding fees), ahead of International iDealwine, 33 million, (up 41% compared to 2021 and 90% compared to 2019). Far behind are Besch Cannes (6.1 million), Artcurial (3.7), Richard auction house (2.3), Bonhams-Cornette de Saint Cyr (1.7), Arcadia (1.7), Tajan (1.2), Xavier Wattebled SVVMEP (1.1), Aguttes (1) and Millon (900,000 euros).
According to the iDealwine Barometer, 2022 had consolidated the trends that had emerged in 2021, with the progression of Burgundy, the attraction for a greater diversity of regions (emergence of Auvergne) and the increased globalization of demand, even if France remains the epicenter. This dynamic is also reflected in the increase in demand for fine spirits.
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