The 63rd edition of the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges Wine Auction will be held on Sunday 10 March, 2024. As every year, it will take place at the Château du Clos de Vougeot and will be streamed live on www.interencheres.com.
The auction is open to all, both for the charity pièce, sold by the bottle at a set price by subscription, and for the lots going under the hammer on behalf of the hospital.
THE 2023 VINTAGE: THE UNIQUE SIGNATURE OF GREAT BURGUNDY WINE
“A year that is exceptional in terms of identity, without comparison with its predecessors, which will delight both those in a hurry, and those who have the patience to wait until the wines reach their peak, in ten or twenty years’ time.” Jean-Marc Moron, Technical Manager of the estate.
2023 is a generous vintage of remarkable balance, giving wines that are typically Burgundian in character, in what were extraordinary climatic conditions. Once again, it was a magnificent year in terms of both quantity and quality, offering wines with perfect balance between power and freshness that incarnate all the excellence of Burgundy.
The chaotic weather caused the viticultural teams at Domaine des Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges many sleepless nights but, when the harvest came around, the grapes were abundant, in superb condition and at perfect maturity. The 2023 harvest has therefore provided us with a gratifying volume for sale – a total of 150 pièces across 19 different cuvées, representing the diversity and authenticity of each cru.
The wines are all excellent representatives of the authenticity of their terroir, characterised by exceptional qualities – immense freshness, refined, restrained power, and superb balance – that are the signature of great Burgundy. Astonishingly, they have unusually high PH levels, but this has no incidence on their Burgundian character, full of finesse and elegance.
TWO EXCEPTIONAL CUVÉES: HARNESSING CREATIVITY TO REVEAL THE INTRINSIC QUALITIES OF THE TERROIRS
In recent years, the ancestral Domaine des Hospices de Nuits has boldly embraced innovation in its winemaking, to reveal all the beauty and diversity of its exceptional terroir. This has led to the creation of two new cuvées in less than three years, which is extremely rare for a venerable landmark whose history goes back to 1270.
THE “CUVÉE DES BIENFAITEURS”, A MOSAIC OF THE DOMAINE DES HOSPICES DE NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES TERROIR
For the third year running, the Charity Pièce is a unique blend of the estate’s nine Premier Crus, baptised the “Cuvée des Bienfaiteurs”. This unique wine is a veritable mosaic of the Nuits-Saint-Georges terroir. It expresses all the character of the appellation and the singularity of each of the crus that make up the blend, whilst highlighting the character of the vintage. The wine of 2023 exudes finesse and elegance, with rich, deep aromas and a dense texture, prolonged by a long finish.
This third vintage therefore promises to be just as splendid as its two predecessors. It is an unparalleled wine destined for cellaring, representing a unique opportunity to constitute a magnificent vertical of vintages over time.
THE CUVÉE “HOMMAGE À HUGUES PERDRIZET”, MADE EXCLUSIVELY FROM OLD VINES ON THE DOMAINE DES HOSPICES DE NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES ESTATE
The 63rd Wine Auction will also be presenting the second vintage of the Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Les Saint-Georges “Sélection de Vieilles Vignes”, Cuvée Hugues Perdrizet. It pays tribute to the very first donor of vines to the Domaine des Hospices de Nuits.
Made from a rigorous selection of the estate’s oldest vines on the Saint-Georges parcel, this wine is already magnificent even in its youth, and promises to be an all-time great for those with the patience to wait. With rich, powerful, complex aromas, and incredible length, this wine is a real gem at the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges wine auction. With this new vintage, it offers an expression of great refinement, with immense power and complexity that merits several years’ cellaring.
SUSTAINING THE MOMENTUM BUILT OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS
For the fifth year in succession, the Wine Auction will be headed by a duo that has successfully injected new momentum into the traditional wine auction: auctioneer Hugues Cortot and wine expert Aymeric de Clouet*.
By putting an end to the traditional candle auction and introducing live streaming on the internet, the auction of each pièce as a separate lot, and now the creation of two brand new wines – the Cuvée Hugues Perdrizet and the Cuvée des Bienfaiteurs – the Wine Auction continues to innovate and modernise year after year.
This approach has been crowned with success in recent years, with strong growth over the last 4 years.
The 2023 edition was no exception, attaining a record €3,603,000. In four years, the result has increased by 123%, with consistent and continued growth each year, and the average price per pièce has more than doubled during the same period (€22,519 in 2023 versus €9,728 in 2019). In 2023 the Charity Pièce, the “Cuvée des Bienfaiteurs”, attained a new historic record, raising €64,580 for the benefit of the charity “Les Blouses Roses”.
Another strong sign of the enthusiasm for the wines of the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges is the increasing number and diversity of buyers since 2020, most notably with growing interest from Chinese buyers.
With the superb 2023 vintage, the organisers are hoping that the 63rd Auction will meet with the same success as in previous years.
*Originally from Burgundy, Mr Cortot has been working as an auctioneer in Dijon for 14 years. He organises two prestigious wine sales every year, together with Mr de Clouet, who is behind some of the most impressive sales at auction in recent years. These include the contents of the legendary Tour d’Argent’s cellar as well as those of Alain Delon, Lino Ventura, the Hôtel Matignon and the Drouant restaurant. The experience of this young and dynamic pairing makes them a formidable asset when it comes to showcasing the Hospices de Nuits auction in the way it deserves.
ABOUT THE DOMAINE DES HOSPICES DE NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES
The Domaine des Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges is a hospital and winegrowing estate founded in 1270, some two centuries before its illustrious neighbor, the Hospices de Beaune, which was established in 1443. Less well-known but just as prestigious, the Hospices de Nuits operates in exactly the same way, combining a functioning medical establishment with a high-quality wine estate. This prestigious estate, spread over 12.7 hectares around the town of Nuits-Saint-Georges, auctions its entire production which covers the appellations of: Nuits-Saint-Georges (village), Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru et Gevrey Chambertin (village).
