PARIS & BEAUNE, 26 OCTOBER 2023 – The 163rd edition of the annual Hospices de Beaune wine sale on Sunday, 19 November will present a total of 51 different cuvées of the 2023 vintage produced from vineyards across the Hospices’ 60-hectare holdings, now in its third and final year of organic conversion. These 51 cuvées will be divided into 753 lots: 574 barrels of red wines and 179 barrels of white wines. With the addition of the unique Presidents’ Barrel and 16 barrels of eaux de vie, this year’s sale comprises 770 barrels in total.
Sotheby’s is working with the Hospices de Beaune, in preparation for the 163rd edition, for the third consecutive year. Funds raised from the sale will be used to finance major new structural projects in 2024. These include the construction of a new hospital building to replace the first building of the modern era which dates to 1971 (due to open in four years), the rebuilding of the hospital in Seurre, the renewal of hospital equipment with cutting edge technology, and a modernisation of the winery.
Earlier this year, the Hospices Civils de Beaune pledged its commitment to support the issue of healthy ageing, in response to a concern about this public health priority. The proceeds from the sale of the special Charity barrel, also known as the Pièce des Présidents (Presidents’ Barrel), will be sold in aid of the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM) and the Initiative de Recherche pour une Longévité en Bonne Santé (IRLB) – both of which are dedicated to maintaining life expectancy in good health for all. Distinguishing this year’s Charity barrel is not only the wine within – a Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru – but also the material with which it was made: the wood of an oak tree used to restore the spire of Notre Dame in Paris.
After the devastating fire of Notre Dame in April 2019, the d’Harcourt family donated 10 prestigious trees for the restoration of the nave and spire of the cathedral from the Vibraye forest, their privately owned forest located in north-western France. Among these 220-year-old trees – the wood of which exactly matches the original source material used for Notre Dame – one fortuitously measured 19 meters, in excess of the 15.5 meters needed for the current restoration. Bernard d’Harcourt decided to donate this remaining volume of wood to the Hospices de Beaune specifically for the charity wine auction. The oak was entrusted to Barraud’s cooperage, a small artisanal business located in Charente, which is celebrating its 40th year in the cooperage industry, for splitting into staves. The resulting staves were subsequently given to the Hospices de Beaune and the crafting of the barrel was carried out in the heart of Burgundy by Tonnellerie Cadus.
