Hospices de Beaune 2010

In this beautiful region that is Burgundy; November has drawn to an end...Physically, we are just getting over the recently finished harvest and the wines are starting to show their promising character after the hectic days of vinification. Has malo-lactic fermentation started? Yes, no, maybe...

November marks the beginning of winter and this year, it reminded us forcefully of the fact. It is, for us however and above all, the month in which an extra-ordinary event is held: the Hospices de Beaune wine auction. This is held every 3rd Thursday in November and fêted its 150th anniversary in 2010!

A quick historical overview: the Hospices de Beaune was built in 1443 by Guigone de Salins and Nicolas Rolin, the then chancellor to the Duke of Burgundy. At that time, the 100 Years' War which opposed the English and the French had had devastating effects both on the troops and on the general population, hence the idea the create a suitable place to welcome people for treatment. It goes without saying that funding for the everyday costs for the Hospices de Beaune, was already a heated subject at the time. Where should the money come from? The state and the region didn't have much in their coffers. Then came the salutary idea of asking for donations. Over the centuries the generosity of a wide variety of people has added vineyards and other lands as well as buildings to the Hospices de Beaune estate, which is today stewarded by the town of Beaune. As a result, 600 years after its creation, the Hospices owns, among other things, one of the biggest and most prestigious Burgundian wines estates, covering 66 hectares of vines. Some of the appellations are really renowned and in high regard, they include Bâtard Montrachet Grand Cru and Mazis Chambertin Grand Cru etc. The wines are put up for auction just after the harvest on this famous 3rd Sunday in November.
You need never bother ask a Burgundian what they're doing on that day again.

So, we gathered on this famous Sunday. Chat, wit and good humour made up the general mood; the atmosphere was welcoming and good natured. We spent our day raising our hands, hoping to get barrel 18 at a good price, or more certainly 22, though 38 wouldn't have been bad either!!

It was a great honour, in this anniversary year, to have the French actor Fabrice Luchini presiding the auction. He lit up the Halls of Beaune like no-one before him, banging the gavel willy-nilly, singing and imitating Johnny Holliday, pushing up the bids, then singing some more... finally getting the grand sum of €400 000 for the "Charité" barrel for the charity he was representing (it was bought by a Burgundian) – the barrel contained 500 hl.... That is to say 660 bottles.

We left the sale happy, proud to be Burgundian and amused at having contributed in our own way to the local hospital of Beaune. Because, despite the severe hammering that the Ministry of Health continually gives to winemakers, this same ministry doesn't get a single prick from its conscience about the wine world auto-financing one of its establishments!!

The members of 'Femmes et Vins de Bourgognes' can be even prouder in that a good number of them brought their children into the world there.

Francine Picard