The Hospices de Beaune auction:
great wines for a great cause

The auction principle: en primeur (as future) sale of the current vintage

The Hospices de Beaune auction takes place every third Sunday in November. The sale is known as en primeur: it is the current year's vintage that is offered, while the wines are only a few weeks old. Just after harvest (early September) and vinification (September to early October) by Hospices winemaker Ludivine Griveau, wines are put into new oak barrels just before the auction. It is a legal requirement to entrust the ageing and bottling of Hospices wines to an authorized professional (négociant-éleveur), such as Albert Bichot.
Technically, at the time of the auction, the wines were therefore very young, having barely finished their alcoholic fermentation. As a result, tasting and analyzing the wines before the auction is a particularly difficult exercise for a non-professional. It's a key stage, and at Albert Bichot we taste each cuvée an average of 5 times between harvest and auction.
What's more, the wines must continue to develop and improve during the ageing phase (12 to 18 months), right up to bottling. Aging Hospices wines, like all Burgundy wines, is an indispensable stage, a combination of know-how, technical gestures and experience.

At Albert Bichot, we have been developing a very special know-how since 1876, combining exacting standards and a sense of detail, which we have been passing on to all our customers as the number 1 buyer for 30 years. You're in good hands.

Presidential barrel: an auction within the auction to the benefit of 2, charities, also supported by Albert Bichot

What attracts the world's attention every year is a very special auction. It thrills the room and reminds us of the universal charitable dimension of Hospices de Beaune auctions. A complete barrel is sold by candlelight, as in the old days: the Pièce des Présidents, also known as the Pièce de Charité. This wine donated by the Hospices de Beaune, usually a grand cru, is in fact sold for the benefit of one or more charities, which will divide the proceeds among themselves.

Albert Bichot also proudly supports the sale of the Pièce des Présidents. No fewer than 6 of the house's customers have acquired this exceptional barrel in recent history, often breaking new records for generosity.

The Hospices de Beaune auction lexicon

Primeur wine, cuvée, multiplication capacity...there are a number of terms you need to know to buy well at the Hospices auctions. Albert Bichot explains it all quite simply.

The Hospices de Beaune auction: a highlight of the Trois Glorieuses and a great weekend of popular celebration in Burgundy

Les Trois Glorieuses is the name given to the three major events that mark the end of the winegrowing year in Burgundy:The Chapitre de la Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin at Clos de Vougeot on Saturday eveningThe Hospices de Beaune auction on Sunday afternoonThe Paulée de Meursault on Monday lunchtime. Throughout the weekend of the Hospices auction (Sunday afternoon), the streets of Beaune, medieval city of character and capital of Burgundy wines, come alive with a huge popular festival. Parades, tastings, a wine sale half-marathon, concerts... there's something for everyone, young and old, families and friends from all over the world, to enjoy and celebrate a moment of sharing around wine in all its dimensions.
Like a festival, it's the combination of events open to as many people as possible and more exclusive moments that give the Hospices de Beaune weekend all its flavor.