The 64th Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges auction took place on Sunday 9th March 2025 at Château du Clos de Vougeot, which saw the largest audience this action has ever had. The first edition to be organised by iDealwine, the auction raised € 856,950 in total excluding the charity pièce. This figure is comprised of € 796,000 for the sale of pièces (288-litre barrels) containing the 2024 vintage with an average price of a pièce increasing substantially by 41.5%, close to the all-time record, and € 60,950 from the sale of the estate’s mature vintages. The charity pièce has raised € 53,900 so far (it’s not sold at auction, as people sign up for bottles instead).
Average price soars for pièces from the 2024 vintage (+41.5 %) – many records set
The 2024 vintage from the Hospices de Nuits combines superb quality with great rarity. Only 36.5 pièces were produced (35.5 sold at auction + charity pièce) compared to the 150 put up for auction the year before (144 sold) and 160 in 2023. The 35.5 pièces, made up of 15 different wines, appreciated for their perfect balance and great finesse, boasts a total sales price of € 796,000, demonstrating the renown of the Hospices’ managing winemaker Jean-Marc Moron’s work. The 2024 vintage was heavily impacted by the weather which resulted in the lowest yield since 1961 and a drop of 75.7 % in the pièces sold compared to the 2024 auction. In spite of that, the average pièce price of € 22,422.50 rose significantly in comparison to last year’s auction when it settled at € 15,843.75 meaning that this price increased by 41.5% and was not far from the record set in 2022 (€ 22,807).
The average price of a red-wine pièce, which represent 14 out of the 15 different wines up for auction and a total of 34 pièces, soared to € 22,147 (hammer price), a 40.6% increase on last year. When looking at just the red premier crus, the average price landed at € 28,815.80.
The most expensive wine at the auction, the Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Cuvée des Sires de Vergy, climbed even higher to € 55,000, an increase of 34.5% on its price last year when the 2023 vintage went under the hammer for €41,000.
The price of a white-wine pièce, a Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Les Terres Blanches settled at € 27,000 (+28.6 %) and this was completed by a feuillette (a 114-litre barrel) sold for € 16,000.
Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges auction: € 60,900 additionally collected through the sale of mature vintages in bottles and magnums
To compensate for the limited quantities produced in 2024, 240 standard bottles and 120 magnums coming from the 2005 to 2017 vintages from the Domaine des Hospices de Nuits’ cellar were also put up for sale. This was a first for the auction and the only time the estate will sell wine in this way. The lots made up of 1, 2, 3 or 6 bottles and magnums accumulated a total of € 60,950, which translates into an average bottle price of € 127 when scaled to 750ml.
A superb result for the charity pièce sold in aid of the association Coucou nous voilou
Following tradition, a charity pièce – or pièce de charité in French – was sold in aid of another charitable cause. And for the first time, the wine was a white one, more specifically Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Les Terres Blanches. The contents of the pièce are sold by people signing themselves up for bottles instead of placing bids with the funds raised going to the association Coucou nous voilou. Founded by Marc Salem, the charity works to brighten the lives of children and teenagers in hospital through trips, games, murals, etc.. At the auction, it was represented by French actress and comedian Chantal Ladesou and champion figure skater Philippe Candeloro.
The charity pièce has raised € 53,900 so far and a 2-bottle case of Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru from 1955 and 1959 donated by Maison Edouard Delaunay to raise additional money for the charity was auctioned for € 2,000. Generosity was at the forefront in the 64th edition of this historic auction as one generous buyer donated the money which they had used to buy a 3-bottle lot to Coucou nous voilou (€ 500) and immediately put the lot back up for auction to raise more money for the Hospices de Nuits.
Cyrille Jomand, the auctioneer and CEO of iDealwine – France’s leading wine auction house and a global leader in online wine auctions – celebrated these results, saying:
“After having digitalised the wine world for the past 25 years, it took a grand occasion, a grand place and a grand cause to come back to organising an auction in an auction room. Mission accomplished, we are happy and proud of the result following what was a very low quantity vintage”.
Guillaume Koch, Director of the Hospices Civils de Beaune, stated:
“We are 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. 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.”
