Average barrel price at Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges sale soars by 41.5%
The average price of a barrel of wine at the 64th Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges auction, which was held on Sunday (9 March), saw the average prices of a barrel rise 41.5% on last year on the back of the smallest harvest in over sixty years. The post Average barrel price at Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges sale soars by 41.5% appeared first on The Drinks Business.
The average price of a barrel of wine at the 64th Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges auction, which was held on Sunday (9 March), saw the average prices of a barrel rise 41.5% on last year on the back of the smallest harvest in over sixty years.
The auction, which was organised by French auction house iDealwine for the first time, raised €856,950 in total (excluding the charity pièce). This was a marked decline from the €2,281,500 (£1.94m) raised last year, but this was due to the 2024 being the lowest yielding harvest since 1961, down nearly 60% in yield-terms on the previous year. With yields down to around 9.5 hectolitres per hectare, only 36 barrels were produced of the 2024 vintage, compared to 150 of the 2023 vintage sold last year - a drop of 75.7 % - or 160 in 2022.
However, the sale was heralded a success, as the average price of the 288-litre pièce rose significantly to €22,422. This was close to the all-time record set in 2022 of €22,807, iDealwine said, up from €15,843 last year. The red premier crus, saw an average price of €28,815 with the most expensive wine at the auction, the Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Cuvée des Sires de Vergy, climbing to €55,000, up 34.5% on last year's hammer price of €41,000.
According to Laurent Delaunay of Burgundian producer and negociant house Edouard Delaunay, "there was a lot of competition, simply because there was, there were very little barrels available."
Guillaume Koch, director of the Hospices Civils de Beaune, which represents all four Hospices sites of Beaune, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Arnay-le-Duc and Seurre, said the team were delighted with the auction result, "We had hoped for a small rise in the pièce prices, and we had a wonderful surprise with the records," he said. "The sale of the bottles and magnums from past vintages allowed a few great wine enthusiasts to indulge. We are very happy with the result and the contribution of the two exceptional patrons.”
The auction also saw a piece of white-wine from Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Les Terres Blanches sold for €27,000 (+28.6 %) - a rarity as Chardonnay covers only 5% of the appellation, and this was completed by a feuillette (a 114-litre barrel) which sold for €16,000.
In order to compensate for the shortfall of the vintage and boost the appeal of the auction to those attending, the second half of the sale was devoted to bottles of back vintages of Nuits St George wines from 2005 to 2017, a first for the annual auction, which raised €60,950, equivalent to €127 per bottle, when scaled to 750ml.
It was, Delaunay said, a very special auction not only due to the smaller yields pushing the “dynamic” bidding in the room, but also due to the decision to offer back vintages of Nuits-Saint-Georges wines - a one-off decision, according to iDealwine. This comprised 240 standard bottles, made up of six-bottle cases and mixed cases, and 120 magnums lots of wines dating from 2005-2017.
As Delaunay explained, it is rare to find back vintages of Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges wines on the auction or secondary market and although this meant there was "little reference" in terms of pricing the wines, he said, as it was mostly private individual who buy them from the sale, and then drink that at home, "everything was sold very easily, with some competition between the buyers, so it was a very dynamic."
Meanwhile the charity pièce in aid of Coucou nous voilou - a French charity that works to brighten the lives of children and teenagers in hospital through trips, games and murals - has raised €53,900 so far, with customers signing up for a bottle, rather than being sold at auction. In addition, two rare and historic bottles of Hospices Nuits-Saint-Georges were donated to raised extra funds for the charity from Delaunay's personal cellar. The two-bottle case, collected by his father and grandfather, comprised a Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru from 1955 and another form 1959, which raised €2,000.
“In my personal cellar I have some wines from the 20s, 40s and 50s, when my grandfather and father were buying them, and I decided them to donate two bottles,” Delaunay said. “We were very, very pleased to do that.”
It is also proving an interesting litmus for Burgundy, given the additional challenges beyond the small harvest, which includes the market being a little on pause for the time being, there is some slowing down” combined with a “not very satisfactory” geopolitical situation. This had led many to, perhaps not worry, but to wonder how the sale would go, Delaunay said.
As he admitted, in the past, Edouard Delaunay has been one of the biggest buyers, however, with prices increasing by more than 40%, many customers were forced to sit this one out.
“Unfortunately we didn’t buy as much [this year] – I buy on behalf of some customers but due to the market situation not all my clients they were able to increase their prices by 41%, so it is probably the smallest amount that we’ve bought,” he said.
This is likely to have been the case across the board – with very little wine around from the 2024 vintage, not everyone would have been willing to pay the increase prices.
So far, there also hasn't been a breakdown of clients by country, but the appointment of French online auctioneer iDealwine, which was announced in September was intended as a “strategic move to further expand the reach of the auction beyond Burgundy”, the organisers previously said. It is hoped that this will further raise the sale's already increasing profile, and boost its international appeal and attract a wider clientele.
Delaunany said it was hard to tell at this stage whether this had been successful, as many key buyers in the room, notably Maison Albert Bichot and Paul Jaboulet Aîné, were likely to be buying on behalf of both local and international customers. However he pointed out that the better-known Hospices de Beaune sale was still largely dominated by French negociants by around two-thirds.
The auction, which was organised by French auction house iDealwine for the first time, raised €856,950 in total (excluding the charity pièce). This was a marked decline from the €2,281,500 (£1.94m) raised last year, but this was due to the 2024 being the lowest yielding harvest since 1961, down nearly 60% in yield-terms on the previous year. With yields down to around 9.5 hectolitres per hectare, only 36 barrels were produced of the 2024 vintage, compared to 150 of the 2023 vintage sold last year - a drop of 75.7 % - or 160 in 2022.
However, the sale was heralded a success, as the average price of the 288-litre pièce rose significantly to €22,422. This was close to the all-time record set in 2022 of €22,807, iDealwine said, up from €15,843 last year. The red premier crus, saw an average price of €28,815 with the most expensive wine at the auction, the Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Cuvée des Sires de Vergy, climbing to €55,000, up 34.5% on last year's hammer price of €41,000.
According to Laurent Delaunay of Burgundian producer and negociant house Edouard Delaunay, "there was a lot of competition, simply because there was, there were very little barrels available."
Guillaume Koch, director of the Hospices Civils de Beaune, which represents all four Hospices sites of Beaune, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Arnay-le-Duc and Seurre, said the team were delighted with the auction result, "We had hoped for a small rise in the pièce prices, and we had a wonderful surprise with the records," he said. "The sale of the bottles and magnums from past vintages allowed a few great wine enthusiasts to indulge. We are very happy with the result and the contribution of the two exceptional patrons.”
The auction also saw a piece of white-wine from Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Les Terres Blanches sold for €27,000 (+28.6 %) - a rarity as Chardonnay covers only 5% of the appellation, and this was completed by a feuillette (a 114-litre barrel) which sold for €16,000.
In order to compensate for the shortfall of the vintage and boost the appeal of the auction to those attending, the second half of the sale was devoted to bottles of back vintages of Nuits St George wines from 2005 to 2017, a first for the annual auction, which raised €60,950, equivalent to €127 per bottle, when scaled to 750ml.
It was, Delaunay said, a very special auction not only due to the smaller yields pushing the “dynamic” bidding in the room, but also due to the decision to offer back vintages of Nuits-Saint-Georges wines - a one-off decision, according to iDealwine. This comprised 240 standard bottles, made up of six-bottle cases and mixed cases, and 120 magnums lots of wines dating from 2005-2017.
As Delaunay explained, it is rare to find back vintages of Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges wines on the auction or secondary market and although this meant there was "little reference" in terms of pricing the wines, he said, as it was mostly private individual who buy them from the sale, and then drink that at home, "everything was sold very easily, with some competition between the buyers, so it was a very dynamic."
Meanwhile the charity pièce in aid of Coucou nous voilou - a French charity that works to brighten the lives of children and teenagers in hospital through trips, games and murals - has raised €53,900 so far, with customers signing up for a bottle, rather than being sold at auction. In addition, two rare and historic bottles of Hospices Nuits-Saint-Georges were donated to raised extra funds for the charity from Delaunay's personal cellar. The two-bottle case, collected by his father and grandfather, comprised a Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru from 1955 and another form 1959, which raised €2,000.
“In my personal cellar I have some wines from the 20s, 40s and 50s, when my grandfather and father were buying them, and I decided them to donate two bottles,” Delaunay said. “We were very, very pleased to do that.”
Reputation boost
According to Delaunay, although the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges sale, like it’s better-known cousin, the Hospices de Beaune sale, operate with “their own dynamic, disconnected from the wider market for Burgundy” the sale would help to boost not only the reputation of the sale itself, but also of the 2024 vintage. “The quality of the wines made by Jean-Marc Maron are outstanding – great wines this year and to some extent, and everyone knows the 2024 was difficult – it brought a natural concentration which compensated the lesser good climate and the wines were very good,” he said. In the last 20-30 yrs, the Hospices de Nuits St George has been developing its reputation and image, he added. “It is different, they are special wines you don’t’ find anywhere else and although it doesn’t have any influence on the normal market, it’s good for the market and good for the vintage reputation – it will participate to improve the reputation of the 2024 vintage.”Litmus test
It is also proving an interesting litmus for Burgundy, given the additional challenges beyond the small harvest, which includes the market being a little on pause for the time being, there is some slowing down” combined with a “not very satisfactory” geopolitical situation. This had led many to, perhaps not worry, but to wonder how the sale would go, Delaunay said.
As he admitted, in the past, Edouard Delaunay has been one of the biggest buyers, however, with prices increasing by more than 40%, many customers were forced to sit this one out.
“Unfortunately we didn’t buy as much [this year] – I buy on behalf of some customers but due to the market situation not all my clients they were able to increase their prices by 41%, so it is probably the smallest amount that we’ve bought,” he said.
This is likely to have been the case across the board – with very little wine around from the 2024 vintage, not everyone would have been willing to pay the increase prices.
So far, there also hasn't been a breakdown of clients by country, but the appointment of French online auctioneer iDealwine, which was announced in September was intended as a “strategic move to further expand the reach of the auction beyond Burgundy”, the organisers previously said. It is hoped that this will further raise the sale's already increasing profile, and boost its international appeal and attract a wider clientele.
Delaunany said it was hard to tell at this stage whether this had been successful, as many key buyers in the room, notably Maison Albert Bichot and Paul Jaboulet Aîné, were likely to be buying on behalf of both local and international customers. However he pointed out that the better-known Hospices de Beaune sale was still largely dominated by French negociants by around two-thirds. 
