The ‘Other’ Hospices Auction: Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges

Overshadowed for decades by its famous counterpart in Beaune, the ‘other’ Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges Wine Auction is steadily emerging as one of Burgundy’s most compelling wine events, writes Raymond Blake

Mention the ‘Hospices Auction’ to any Burgundy lover anywhere in the world and it is virtually certain they will assume you are talking about the famed Hospices de Beaune charity wine auction, the oldest such event in the world, which has been held since 1859 and which raises millions of Euro every year for the local hospital and other designated causes. If you then attempt to clarify things by specifying you are referring to the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges auction you will probably be met by a blank look, followed by a puzzled, “Please elaborate.”

The above scenario, while still valid, speaks more of the past than the present and, as the years pass, will become increasingly redundant. In short, it is only a matter of time before the ‘junior’ auction is accorded the level of recognition it deserves. It will never outshine ‘big brother’ but it will add another chapter to the ever-evolving, millennia-long story of Burgundy.

The 65th edition of the auction took place earlier this year, though the history of the Hospices de Nuits itself stretches back to its foundation in the late 13th century, pre-dating its more famed sibling by nearly two centuries. The original premises fell victim to war so that, in 1633, the hospices moved to a new location on the banks of the Meuzin river which flows through Nuits-Saint-Georges. By century’s end it had moved again, though still adjacent to the river, and was now established in a building constructed in 1689 which housed 16 beds.

The first vineyards were bequeathed to the hospices by Hugues Perdrizet in 1688 and comprised two ouvrées (about one-twelfth of a hectare). That donation is still recognised today in a cuvée named for him: Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er cru Vieilles Vignes Les Saints Georges, Cuvée Hugues Perdrizet. Subsequent bequests and donations over the centuries have brought the total vineyard holdings up to a little over a dozen hectares today, concentrated principally in and around Nuits-Saint-Georges. The monies raised through auctioning the wines from these vineyards went towards the building of a new hospital in 2018, which facility offers a level of care and comfort unimaginable seven centuries ago. The original founders can rest easy that their legacy is in safe hands and enjoys the status of a treasured Burgundian institution.

Apart from the Nuits vineyards the Hospices also has holdings in Premeaux-Prissey, Vosne- Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin, from which, together with Nuits, a total of 19 wines are produced. Included in their number are nine Nuits-Saint-Georges premiers crus, including the 2.45-hectare monopole ‘Les Didiers’, which sits on the boundary between Premeaux-Prissey and Nuits-Saint-Georges, abutting the Les Saints- Georges vineyard, from which Nuits takes its name. All the Hospices’ production is red, save for a relative rarity, a Nuits premier cru blanc, Les Terres Blanches made from Chardonnay. (White premiers crus from the Côte de Nuits are seldom seen and one of the best known, Domaine Ponsot’s Morey-Saint-Denis monopole, Clos des Monts-Luisants is made from Aligoté, while Domaine de la Vougeraie’s Le Clos Blanc de Vougeot includes small percentages of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.)

Production of Les Terres Blanches amounted to one-and-a-half barrels in 2025 and at this year’s auction, held on Sunday 8th March, the barrel (or pièce) was knocked down for €34,000 while the half-barrel (\) attracted a top bid of €23,000. Notwithstanding these impressive figures it was the headline red wines that garnered the lion’s share of attention, the leading pair being two cuvées of Les Saints-Georges premier cru: Cuvée Hugues Perdrizet and Cuvée Georges Faiveley. One pièce of each sold for €47,000, the highest prices on a day that saw a total of about €1.5 million raised for the hospices. Eighty barrels were available for purchase and by day’s end every lot had been sold, making the event, in auction-speak, a ‘white glove’ sale.

As with the Hospices de Beaune auction a designated charity – this year Ani’nomade – is always the beneficiary from the sale of one barrel. To quote the press release: “Founded in 2010 and based in Burgundy, Ani’nomade is a pioneering organisation in the field of animal assisted therapy. The charity develops programmes for a wide range of audiences – including elderly people, individuals with disabilities, patients and vulnerable groups – built around the therapeutic benefits of the bond between humans and animals.” Named the Cuvée des Bienfaiteurs, the charity barrel is a premier cru Nuits-Saint-Georges composed of a blend of the hospices’ nine premiers crus holdings, making it unique to the occasion.

Mention must also be made of the venue for the Hospices de Nuits auction, for it is here that the Nuits event categorically trumps its Beaune equivalent. The latter may well start with a press conference in the impressive Salle des Pauvres of the Hôtel Dieu but the auction itself takes place across the road in the indoor section of the weekly market, which is well decked out and dressed for the event but it cannot compete with the Nuits auction venue: the Château du Clos de Vougeot. With only a little licence, the clos and its château might be called Burgundy’s historic centre of gravity – originally built as the Cistercian monks’ winery because the location of their Abbey de Cîteaux in marshy land on the plain to the east was unsuitable for the cultivation of the vine. Today, many centuries later, it is designated as a national monument of France and serves as the headquarters of La Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin. Founded in the 1930s at a time when, inconceivable as it may be today, the Burgundians struggled to sell their wines, the confrérie is a brotherhood sustained by bibulous good fellowship whose express purpose is to spread the good word about all things Burgundian, starting with wine.

The venue for the auction was the Grand Cellier of the château, which plays host to the regular bibulous gatherings – chapitres – of the confrérie, but before the auctioneer’s gavel went into action the attendees were entertained to a substantial lunch of monkfish, beef, cheese and crème brûlée, accompanied by three premiers crus – Meursault and a pair of Nuits- Saint-Georges – followed by Crémant and Marc de Bourgogne. The lunch also served to mark, with speeches and sustained applause, a ‘changing of the guard’ as long-standing winemaker Jean-Marc Moron bowed out after 35 vintages in charge – over half of all the vintages offered at the annual auction. His successor, appointed in early January 2026, is Laurence Danel who hails from northern France.

She gained her first experience of Burgundy while working a harvest at Domaine des Perdrix in Prémeaux-Prissey, barely a stone’s throw from her new base in Nuits-Saint- Georges. That first harvest was followed by oenology studies, graduating in 2003, and then stints at Bouchard Père & Fils, Domaine Faiveley, and most recently Domaine Jean Féry & Fils. From the press release announcing her appointment: “Danel’s arrival marks a new chapter for the Domaine des Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges. Tasked with continuing the strong legacy of Jean-Marc Moron, and with a strong affinity for Pinot Noir, she aims to highlight the full expression of each terroir while upholding the precision that defines the estate’s wines… She also plans to implement and advance environmentally responsible practices across the estate’s vineyards.”

After lunch the serious business got underway, watched by a large crowd thanks to the propitious choice of date, 8th March, for this was the eve of the biennial trade gathering, Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne, which attracts many hundreds of trade and press visitors from across the globe, thus guaranteeing an influential attendance at the auction. For the secondyear it was run by iDealwine, something of a new kid on the auction block. Where other auction houses that regularly handle wine sales and the disposal of private cellars – one thinks of Sotheby’s and Christie’s – may trace their origins back across the centuries, iDealwine is a child of the 21st century, having been founded in 2000. Since then, with offices in Paris, Beaune and Bordeaux, as well as overseas, it has established itself as a leader in online sales. Perhaps of greater interest to wine lovers is its annual ‘Barometer’ publication, a hefty tome of some 200 pages of wine market analysis. In essence, it is a distillation of data from tens of thousands of auction results and it warrants, and rewards, careful perusal, as this writer is happy to attest.

The Hospices de Nuits auction has moved a little out of the shadow of ‘big brother’ in recent years and while it may never rival the Beaune auction for renown nor does it suffer from the same degree of hullabaloo and razzmatazz associated with the older version – witness the pre-auction scrum as dignitaries make their way to the dais in Beaune compared to the more measured assembly of guests in Vougeot. What Nuits needs is a broader spread of appellations, which can only happen over time. The Hospices de Beaune is now so well resourced with 60-plus hectares of vineyard, might it not be time for donors and benefactors to direct their generosity northwards to the red heartland of the Côte d’Or?