France · Burgundy

Hospices de Beaune

The Hospices de Beaune wine auction, held annually on the third Sunday of November, is the world's most celebrated charity wine sale — the estate dates to 1443, when Chancellor Nicolas Rolin founded the Hôtel-Dieu hospital and endowed it with vineyards for perpetual funding. The Hospices now owns approximately 60 hectares of premier and grand cru Burgundy vineyards across the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits, harvesting and vinifying wines in barrel form before auctioning them to négociants and private buyers who complete the élevage themselves. The named cuvées appearing at auction — Cuvée Charlotte Dumay (Corton Grand Cru), Cuvée Docteur Peste (Corton), and Cuvée Cyrot-Chaudron (Savigny-lès-Beaune) — are each associated with historic benefactors who donated land to the institution over centuries. At auction, 116 lots averaging $172 per bottle reflects a spread from accessible premier cru Beaune cuvées to the prized grand cru Corton lots. The Hospices auction price is influenced by factors beyond terroir quality: vintage hype, charity bidding enthusiasm, and the prestige of winning a historically named lot. Finished bottles — after the purchasing négociant completes élevage — can show remarkable quality, particularly for Corton cuvées from exceptional vintages like 2010, 2015, and 2019. Quality varies significantly by the finishing house chosen by the original buyer.