Each November since 1859, Burgundy has enjoyed one of the most famous traditions in the wine world; the "Vent aux Enchères des Hospices de Beaune" - the Auction of the Hospices de Beaune. The auction is held in the market place outside the Hotel Dieu, the most famous landmark in Beaune, and is the focal point for a long weekend of celebration and high living at the end of the winemaker's year. With total sales of close to five million dollars, the Hospices' claim to be the largest charity auction in the world is hard to contest - the bottles sold here would fill over 15 containers if they were shipped to the United States!
The name "Hospices" was given to the hospitals of the Hotel Dieu and the Hospice de la Charité, another local charity hospital, when they were merged in the 19th Century. The Hotel Dieu was founded with the legacy left by by Nicolas Rolin in 1443, who had been Chancellor to the Duke of Burgundy. It was completed in 1451 and thereafter used as a charity hospital which cared for the sick and destitute in the dreadful times following the Hundred Years' War. The Hospices was, and still is, funded primarily by the sale of wines from its extensive holdings throughout the Côte d'Or, which have been bequeathed to the charity over the years, and it is for the purpose of selling this wine that the auction is held every year. From this continued support the Hospices has established a modern well-equipped hospital nearby, and the Hotel Dieu now serves as its flagship and tourist attraction, receiving more than 400,000 visitors a year.
At the first auction in 1859 one hundred and eighty nine barrels (known in Burgundy as a "pièce") were sold, each of which holds 304 bottles of wine. The latest auction on November 19, 1999 saw the sale of 729 pièces (115 white and 614 red), at an average price of $6,657.00 per pièce, or about twenty two dollars a bottle. In addition to the general sale, one special lot is reserved for donation by the Hospoces to another charity, chosen each year by the honorary President of the auction. This year's President was English actress Kristin Scott-Thomas, star of "The English Patient", "The Horse Whisperer", and "Four Weddings and a Funeral". The President starts the bidding and is specially involved with this barrel, which Ms. Scott-Thomas chose to dedicate this year to France-Alzheimer, an Alzheimer research and care organization.
Since 1924 the sale has always been held on the third Sunday of November, marking the end of the winemaker's yearly cycle of growing and fermenting, and the beginning of winter. The auction of the Hospices wines has evolved over the years into one of the most prestigious wine parties of the year, the "Trois Glorieuses", a "glorious" three-day event with extravagant dinners, press conferences and tastings. This extraordinary weekend culminates in the "Paulée" of Chateau de Meursault, a huge party where the growers and their friends converge for a truly hedonistic lunch on the Monday after the auction. An invitation to this party is perhaps the most coveted privilege in French wine circles!
A unique feature of the Hospice auction is the tradition of lighting a short candle at the start of the bidding for each lot, and the winning bid is decided when the candle burns out. These days the auctioneer controls the candle according to how the bidding is going, using the sputtering flame to drive the bidding to new heights. The minimum bid increment is 1000 French Francs (approximately $175 US), and as the candle burns down for the most sought-after lots even the staid and proper Burgundy negoçiants can get a little excited! An innovation in this year's auction was the blending of tradition with the latest in modern technology, as buyers worldwide were able to monitor and participate in the bidding over the Internet. In addition, this year's auction was sold for the first time in Euros, the new European single currency which is scheduled to replace the French Franc and other nations' currencies over the next few years.
The auction of the Hospices has traditionally set the tone for both the price and quantity of Burgundy's wines for the year, since it is the first major sale of the new vintage. The wine is sold in barrel, and after the sale it is delivered to negoçiants who age the wine in their own cellars and eventually bottle it. However, the Hospice provides its own distinctive special label that must be used for each wine, to which the name of the buyer is added. Since most of the wine spends the majority of its "elevage" in the cellars of the negoçiant who purchased the barrel, this part of the label is very important. Most Burgundy connoisseurs will have experienced the tremendous variation that's possible between wines of the same vineyard raised by different houses.
According to the BIVB (Bureau Interprofessionel du Vin de Bourgogne; the growers' mouthpiece and PR organization) "the 139th Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction ended on a positive note". The average price fetched per barrel at the auction was 0.5% lower than last year's price, and they claim that this was a deliberate effort to control the dizzying ascent of prices over the past years. Indeed the president of the negoçiants' syndicate, Pierre-Henry Gagey had urged his colleagues before the auction to try to keep prices 10% below last year's, which were generally regarded as getting out of hand. Since there was such an abundant harvest this year (729 pièces for sale as opposed to 577 in 1998) he thought that this might be possible. In fact the price drop was far less than he had hoped, but at least the rising tide was stemmed.
We should commend the Burgundians on their foresight and marketing savvy. We have all seen the reaction to the dramatic price increases in recent vintages of both Burgundy and Bordeaux, and how eager many "New World" winemakers are to join the fray with high quality, reasonably-priced alternatives for the wine consumer. Whatever the motivation, we can certainly say this year's prices are good news for Burgundy lovers!
In the evening after the bidding is finished a candle-lit dinner is held in the Hotel Dieu itself. This is but one of the gastronomic delights of the weekend; on the Saturday night preceding the auction the Confrèrie Chevaliers du Tastevin entertain over 500 specially invited guests in the 800-year old cellar of their headquarters, the Chateau of Clos de Vougeot, close to Vosne Romanée. These are certainly ceremonial occasions, as the red-robed members of the Brotherhood parade with their maces and intone their traditional oratory. However if you wait until the evening has warmed up and a little of the fruits of their labors has been imbibed you'll see the earthy, fun-loving character of these hard-working men and women come to the fore. The French have a knack of making any occasion into a good-humored party, and winemakers are some of the most adept! Even if you don't understand a word of French you'll be hard-pressed not to join in the traditional Burgundian songs as you are swept up in the warm embrace of their good-humored wit and celebration.
As grand as the events on Saturday and Sunday are, the most popular by far is the Paulée, the "lunch" held in the Chateau de Meursault on Monday. This is a lunch like no other, as 500 or so of Meursault's winemakers and their guests arrive bearing anything from a couple to half a dozen bottles in their wire wine-carriers. This is without a doubt the most impressive BYOB party you're likely to enjoy, as locals and foreigners share wines form all parts of the globe and enjoy multiple courses of Burgundian gastronomy.
After all this commotion the obvious question begs: what kind of wine was being sold for these prices? According to the BIVB, the "last harvest of the Millennium was "a gift of nature" and was "distinguished by purity and good balance", with wines ranging from "fruity and seductive" to "meaty and well-structured". One important aspect of the harvest this year was the large crop, reflected in the number of barrels sold at the auction. In most of France's wine regions there was a very abundant set in the spring, and even after serious de-budding in the spring and crop-thinning in the summer the crop was still well above average.
Although the early summer was not especially hot and sunny, from mid-August to harvest there was abundant sunshine in Burgundy, which coupled with cool nights produced some very good, well-balanced fruit. The fruit was very healthy here, as it was in Bordeaux, and the weather held until September 18 to produce high sugar levels and good maturation. The dry period leading up to harvest ensured that even when rain did arrive in late September the grapes were healthy enough to avoid problems of mold and rot, and intelligent growers were able to sidestep the rain showers to pick healthy grapes in very good condition.
Altogether, between the modest prices and the potential quality of this large crop from the Côte d'Or, it looks like it might be one of the more reasonable offerings for the Burgundy consumer when it eventually hits the shelves - as long as it doesn't get blown out of proportion by souvenir-hunters looking for that "last year" of the Millennim!
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