Alain Suguenot, Jean Reno, Eva Longoria, Zabou Breitman, Dominic West and Aurélie Vandevoorde at the Hospices de Beaune 2024 auction.
While a far cry from the record set in 2022 of €29,788,500, the average price per barrel sold – €31,540 – represented a small increase from last year’s average, at €30,839 per barrel, even if bids were lower per barrel than the record 2022 sale, when the average price per barrel sold for €35,974.
That less money was raised compared to last year to upkeep the Hospices Civils de Beaune’s hospitals ‘can be fully explained’ by far fewer barrels on offer this year, said Willem Schiks, export manager for Maison François Martenot, a prominent auction buyer.
‘A very good result’ despite lower yields
Although not the lowest number of barrels to go under the hammer – that record was set in 2021, with 356 barrels and five half barrels – the 438 barrels and three half barrels this year amounted to under 60% of the 753 barrels sold in 2023, reflecting the lower yields of the 2024 vintage compared to last year’s generous harvest.
‘A very good result,’ said Nick Pegna, global head of wines & spirits for Sotheby’s, who also stressed ‘mixed wider market conditions’ as a factor.
Célian Ravel d’Estienne, head of wine auction sales, Sotheby’s France, said: ‘Speaking on behalf of myself and our global wine team, we feel very passionate about working with the Hospices and championing both the cause and their wines. This year, we were able to build a successful sale with the wonderful wines from Ludivine despite the climatic challenges faced by the whole Burgundy region, resulting in much lower volumes than the two previous vintages.’
The rather high average price per barrel was driven by a record 354 paddles from 32 countries – compared to last year’s 292. About 40% of the bidders were American, 30% from Asia – including China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia – and the rest mainly from Europe, according to Sotheby’s.
The white wines ‘played a particularly important role,’ according to a Sotheby’s press release, with new record prices such as the Bâtard-Montrachet at €355,000. The auction featured 51 cuvées, including village, premiers, and grands crus, from the Hospices’ 60 hectares of vineyards, which were certified organic in 2024, following a three-year conversion period.
President’s barrel: A record sum for a Premier Cru
The President’s barrel. Credit: Sotheby’s Press Office
In addition to the 51 cuvées, the special charity barrel, the Pièce des Présidents – a Beaune 1er Cru Les Bressandes – was sold for €360,000, which constitutes a record for a Premier Cru as a President’s barrel.
Although a far cry from the historic record for the President’s barrel – €810,000 for a Corton Grand Cru set at the 2022 auction – it surpassed last year’s hammer price (€350,000) for Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru as Pièce des Présidents.
Proceeds from the barrel – produced from a single plot within the estate that is usually used for four other cuvées (Nicolas Rolin, Guigone de Salins, Dames Hospitalières and Brunet) – will benefit two entities. The first is Médecins Sans Frontières, the international medical humanitarian association that provides medical assistance to people whose health or lives are threatened worldwide. The second, Global Gift Foundation, is a humanitarian non-profit organisation founded in 2013 by Spanish actress María Bravo, to help women and children in vulnerable situations, including for example families from recent floods in Valencia, Spain, said Bravo at the press conference.
Famous faces
Eva Longoria and Zabou Breitman bring the hammer down on the sale of the President’s barrel. Credit: Micha Patault / Courtesy of Sotheby’s Press Office
Famous for roles in Vice and The Crown, among others, English actor Dominic West, who, along with French actress Zabou…
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