Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction 2023 : 20-day countdown!

First tasting of the Vintage

Dear Co-Buyers,

It’s that time of year once again, when we embark together on the whirlwind adventure that is the Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction.

We bid you welcome!

We’ll kick things off with an overview of the 2023 vintage (starting with cultivation in the vineyards through to the start of aging at Hospices de Beaune). Then we’ll summarize the first tasting done of October 31, 2023, so you can better differentiate the cuvées and the distinctive qualities of the 2023 vintage.

1/ Overview of the 2023 vintage

Big picture of 2023 burgundies:

The 2023 vintage is bountiful, highly diverse, and was marked by highly variable weather patterns.

Meteorology and Viticulture:

2023 started with very mild, dry winter: the soil warmed up quickly in late winter, which made us fear an overly early bud break with the associated risks of spring frost.

Spring rains came as a welcome relief, allowing the soil to build up precious reserves.

Flowering was irregular and took quite some time to finish: the future grapes were plentiful and much larger than usual: one could already sense that this harvest might be very abundant indeed.

On 11 July violent storms swept through the region. Here in Meursault hail caused significant damage.

The first 15 days of August were rather cool and rainy: downy mildew became difficult to contain, especially in the most heavily laden vineyards.

For the reds, Ludivine quickly realized that the ultimate quality of the vintage would be tied to managing the large volume of the harvest, and started a regimen of green harvesting in July. This dramatically reduces the potential harvest volume, but promotes balanced maturity and physicochemical equilibrium. Another advantage of reducing the number of grapes is that the vines of Hospices de Beaune, grown under strict organic rules, are much better protected from various diseases.

The real curveball in shaping this vintage was the lack of rain and high heat of late August and September.

Harvesting, done 100% manually, began September 6 around Pouilly Fuissé and Volnay and ended on September 19 in St. Romain and Monthelie.

Although harvest days were excessively hot, it was imperative to bring in the grapes in cooler time to maintain grape sugar levels: therefore, harvesting occurred in the early mornings and not in the afternoon.

Sorting quality is fundamental for this vintage: after an initial sorting by the harvest teams, several dozen people sorted the grapes a second time at the fermenting facility on 3 sorting tables.

The whites were whole-cluster-pressed, while the reds were systematically destemmed. There was no significant change from the typical process for the whites, except for slightly stricter settling than usual, in order to retain only the highest quality must. The micro-cuvées, on the other hand, were precisely pressed in a small press with a maximum capacity of 15 hl.

The whites are large on the palate, presenting very pure aromatics with strong terroir effects.

The reds were all vinified in parcels, meaning that each vine, each climate, was vinified separately, again aiming for the greatest precision.

Color extraction, said to be difficult this year (due to very high yields), did not pose any difficulty for the Hospices wines.

The reds are very fruity: the aroma of red cherry and sometimes black cherry seems to be a hallmark of this Hospices vintage. Purity is found in abundance.

The tannic side is superlative: round and silky. The palates are structured, without excess. We have long observed that Ludivine Griveau excels in extracting beautiful tannins.

In a word: 2023 will be a truly exceptional vintage!

753 barrels will be featured in the 2023 Hospices auction (vs 802 in 2022).

2/ Wine Tasting

October 26, 2023, between 9:30 am and 12:00 pm (a “leaf” day). Barrel tasting. All wines were put in new barrels.

All the reds have completed their alcoholic fermentation and are completely “dry.” Some white cuvées are still fermenting and show between 3 and 5g/l of sugar. No malolactic fermentation has begun.

Time for a taster in top form with taste buds finely tuned!

The coopers selected this year:

“Damy” for all white wines “Billon” for Pernand-Vergelesses, Monthelie and Auxey-Duresses

“Cadus” for Savigny Lès Beaune “François Frères” for Beaune 1er cru, Volnay-Santenots and Pommard 1er cru “Ermitage” on Volnay 1er cru and Pommard

“Taransaud” for Corton, Echezeaux, Clos de la Roche and Mazis-Chambertin

This marks Ludivine Griveau’s 9th vintage at Hospices de Beaune.

This year, qualitative consistency is clearly in evidence (even though the vintage overall can be characterized as quite heterogenous): all but a few cuvées are worth acquiring, in our opinion.

Quality is high indeed, well above the year’s standards: at Hospices de Beaune, the whites will be magnificent, and the reds very indulgent, round, and silky.

The strategy of parcel-based vinification is paying off!

Each climate is vinified separately from the others. This approach has been used in Burgundy more generally, but with the Hospices wines – where many blends result from the union of multiple climates – this has not always been the case in the past. Ludivine Griveau has clearly settled the matter now for several years running: parcel-based vinification is used exclusively, even if there is blending in the end: we gain in expression, in typicity, and in precision. Before presenting the cuvées that we will attempt to purchase at auction, we would like to remind you how to participate as a purchaser with Anima Vinum

Before presenting to you the vintages that we will attempt to acquire, we remind you of the terms of the “Hospices de Beaune according to Anima Vinum” subscription (click on the link)

Successes among the whites: practically all of them! Those that most impressed me include:

My best feelings are :

Pouilly Fuissé,

Saint Romain,

Meursault “Loppin”,

Meursault “Goureau”

Meursault 1er cru Les Charmes “Bahèzre de Lanlay”

and Meursault 1er cru Les Charmes “Albert Grivault”,

Meursault 1er cru Porusots “Jehan Humblot”,

Meursault 1er cru Genévrières “Philippe le Bon”,

Corton Vergennes “Paul Chanson” Gd Cru,

Corton Charlemagne “François de Salins” Gd Cru.

Successes among the reds: I was particularly impressed by the areas of Savigny-lès-Beaune, Beaune, and Pommard: almost all the cuvées are of a high level with clearly defined personalities and proven terroir typicity. Among these, there are 3 or 4 potential favorites that I will detail in a forthcoming summary. I found Corton Grand Cru slightly lagging this year, although Docteur Peste (Les Chaumes) and Baronne du Baÿ (Le Clos du Roy) are very successful. Finally, for those seeking exceptional bottles, the grands crus of Côte-de-Nuits clearly make the grade, with a special mention going to Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru.

Greatest achievements in red :

Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er cru “Forneret”,

Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er cru “Fouquerand”

Beaune 1er cru “Cyrot Chaudron”*,

Beaune 1er cru “Maurice Drouhin”,

Beaune 1er cru “Pierre Floquet”*,

Beaune 1er cru “Hugues et Louis Bétault”,

Beaune 1er cru “Clos des Avaux”,

Beaune 1er cru “Dames Hospitalières”,

Beaune 1er cru “Guigone de Salins”

and Beaune 1er cru “Nicolas Rolin”,

Volnay-Santenots 1er cru “Jean de Massol”*

Pommard “Suzanne Chaudron”

and Pommard “Raymond Cyrot”*

Pommard 1er cru “Dames de la Charité”*

Pommard-Epenots 1er cru “Goblet”*

Corton Grand Cru “Doctor Peste”

and Corton Grand Cru “Baronne du Baÿ”*

Clos de la Roche Grand cru*

Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru*

How can you participate in the Hospices de Beaune auction as a co-buyer with ANIMA VINUM, the top artisanal buyer at this landmark event?

During the week preceding the auction held on November 19, we will share our selection of target cuvées as well as the maximum subscription prices (which correspond to our maximum bid target in each case).

You may subscribe for as many bottles as you wish in multiples of 6 bottles (or 3 magnums) per desired cuvée.

We can accept your subscriptions up to the start of the sale, which is Sunday, November 19, 2023, at 2:30 pm CET.

Starting Monday, November 20, we will confirm the actual purchase prices obtained (based on the auction results): in no case will they exceed our target prices preceding the auction.

In the event that targeted cuvées could not be purchased at or below the target prices, you may transfer your subscription to other cuvées if you so desire.

Your subscription will be confirmed upon receipt of your payment, which corresponds to the amount excluding VAT and shipping.

In joining ANIMA VINUM as a co-buyer, you are also becoming a partner in our shared artisanal vision of terroir wines.

Some manifestations of our shared vision: long aging with minimal intervention, hand-bottling for the reds, premium dry materials (corks dried in the Tramontane for 15 to 18 months, washed without peroxide or chemical solvents, guaranteed to have no cork taste, wooden crates, heavy bottles, hand-waxed grand crus and magnums, custom Hospices labels that include a name of the buyer’s choice, etc.). You will be invited to Burgundy in spring 2024 for a mid-aging barrel tasting of the cuvées you’ve subscribed with us.

Your wines will be deliverable at the end of 2025, after payment of any balance (VAT + applicable shipping), except for cuvées requiring longer aging.

Feel free to share this information with your wine-loving friends and family and also consider grouping your subscriptions.

To follow Anima Vinum’s adventures at Hospices de Beaune each step of the way, be sure to check back regularly at www.animavinum.fr/suivez-laventure/

We look forward to catching up with you around November 15, 2023, when we’ll publish our subscription documents (keep an eye out on your inbox). The entire Anima Vinum team remains at your disposal to assist you in discovering this exceptional vintage.