The 2023 vintage at Domaine des Hospices de Beaune:
exigence and mastery

Review and analysis of the 2023 vintage by Albert Bichot

Each year is different from the last, and at Albert Bichot we try to finely analyze the specific conditions of the year in order to make pertinent recommendations to our customers for their Hospice purchases. It's always instructive to put into perspective the work of Ludivine Griveau, who presents a significant number of cuvées just a few weeks after the harvest, with the vinifications we ourselves have carried out at our Domaines. Here then are our feelings at the end of the tastings we conducted with great pleasure, in a moment of sincere exchange between Ludivine Griveau and our technical teams (Alain Serveau, Mathieu Mangenot and Cyrille Jacquelin)

The white wines of Hospices de Beaune 2023: Amplitude - Balance - Expressiveness

Despite their "solar" opulence, which reflects the latter part of the 2023 vintage's climatic conditions, we very much appreciate in the wines of the Hospices and its winemaker the freshness of all the cuvées we tasted. This quality testifies to wise choices for three key parameters: carefully controlled yields, optimal harvest dates and finely controlled vinifications.

At this stage, we are planning maturation in our cellars aimed at magnifying this balance between freshness and intensity.We will be keen to ensure that we retain the singularity of each terroir, which is already expressing itself today. In this sense, and true to our expertise in maturing Hospices wines since 1876, we will adapt the origins, toast, grains and age of each barrel.

This is, moreover, a reflection and practice we are successfully carrying out for our own Albert Bichot wines, in the context of global warming and the challenges it poses for preserving the inimitable style of great Burgundy wines. The white wines of Hospices de Beaune 2023 greatly deserve this rigor and attention on our part.

The red wines of Hospices de Beaune 2023: Matter - Precision - Length

We particularly appreciated on this delicate vintage despite (or because of) its generosity the remarkable quality of the work of Ludivine Griveau and her teams. Both in the vineyard and on the sorting tables, she has very perceptively controlled yields, to keep only the best grapes, free from defects or excess ripeness, in order to preserve the purity of aromas and the faithful expression of each climate for which she is responsible.

The result is very seductive red wines already in their youth, with very fresh aromas, witness to fine vinification with careful extraction of matter. With this technical mastery and these excellent qualitative foundations on all the cuvées, we are already in an excellent position to raise these great wines in our cellars and bring them to the peak of their potential.

Buying as we often do many barrels of the same cuvée will once again be a real asset to bring complexityand subtlety to these great Burgundy wines, these "great wines for a great cause" as we often say. Just as for the 2023 white wines, preserving freshness and gently polishing the tannins present to preserve this lovely vintage fruit will be our guiding principle.

We would also like to point out that for the white wines as for the Hospices de Beaune red wines,the ageing at Albert Bichot will be carried out in compliance with the specifications framing wines from Organic Agriculture. This year marks the 3rd and final year of conversion for Domaine des Hospices, before certification for the 2024 vintage. Here again, we can draw on our long experience in this field, as our estates themselves have long been certified.

Interview #2 - Ludivine Griveau presents the vinification and style of Hospices 2023 wines.

October 23, 2023. One month after the harvest and one month before the 163rd auction (November 19) Ludivine Griveau welcomes us to the Hospices cuverie. An opportunity for the steward to look back at the conditions of the 2023 vintage, her choices for both white and red vinifications, and then to present the main appellations and cuvées that will be auctioned on November 19, 2023 in Beaune.

She then tells us about the famous Pièce des Présidents, which will be sold this year to benefit 2 associations supporting the cause of ageing well: an exceptional barrel of Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru presented in an exceptional oak barrel, made from the same wood used to rebuild the spire of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Finally, she talks about future projects at the Hospices estate, including replanting and the arrival of new cuvées in the coming years. See you on November 19, 2023 for the 163rd Hospices de Beaune wine sale.

Interview #1 - Ludivine Griveau presents the conditions of the 2023 vintage on the last day of harvest (September 19).

September 19, 2023. On the last day of the harvest, Ludivine Griveau, registrar of the Domaine des Hospices de Beaune, welcomes Jean-David Camus from Albert Bichot. She describes the vegetative cycle and harvesting conditions for the 2023 vintage. An abundant vintage, but one in which the choice has clearly been made to prioritize quality over quantity, right from the start of the cycle with green harvesting, followed by severe sorting in the vines at harvest time, in order to bring only the best grapes to the winery.
At this stage, the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay aromatic profiles are very pure, with beautiful expressions. Fermentations will continue, and we're looking forward to another tasting and analysis of the wines in a few weeks' time, once they've been devatted and put into barrel.

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Photo gallery - Hospices de Beaune vintage 2023