Auction Hospice de Beaune 2010
A Record Sale at the Hospices de Beaune Auction
By Will Lyons Comments
Beaune, France — Cries of delight echoed round the Halles de Beaune Sunday as the 150th Hospices de Beaune charity wine auction saw a record price of €400,000 ($548,000) achieved for the star lot, La Pièce des Présidents. Also in this sale, the value of wines bought by Asian buyers overtook U.S. buyers for the first time.
The record lot, for 500 liters of Beaune Premier Cru Cuvée Nicolas Rolin, was double the preceding value of 2006. The barrel was bought by Jacques Boisseaux, the owner of Château de Meursault. Proceeds of the sale will go to the Association for Life and Hope Against Cancer, managed by Professor David Khayat, and the Red Cross.
- William Daniels
- The Hospices de Beaune charity wine auction was held Sunday in Beaune, France.
This year the auction, run by Christie’s since 2005, offered a smaller amount of wine at 543 barrels of red wine and 100 of white wine. More than 300 buyers, a mix of private clients, negociants and wine merchants, raised a total of €5.1 million ($6.9 million), almost equal to the record total of €5.4 million from 2009 , despite there being 156 fewer barrels in the sale.
The sale was dominated by European buyers who accounted for 85.5% of the value of the bids, but this year’s turnout also marked the arrival of a significant number of Asian bidders who for the first time spent more than buyers from the U.S. by value, at 12.5% to 1.6%.
Emmanuelle Vidal-Delagneau, business director and auctioneer in charge of the sale, said she was very happy with the results and with nearly achieving record sales despite having 156 fewer barrels.
“The massive contribution of Europeans, who were the principal buyers at the sale and the dynamic input from Asian bidders accounted for this success. Asia is becoming the second most important market for great wines, ahead of North America, giving new opportunities for the Hospices de Beaune’s widening reputation,” Ms. Vidal-Delagneau said.
The auction was conducted by François Curiel, chairman of Christie’s Asia with François de Ricqles of Christie’s France and Ms. Vidal-Delagneau. French actor Fabrice Luchini delighted the crowds when he made a guest appearance to sell the star lot, La Pièce des Présidents.
Hospice de Beaune information and history
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