The Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges auction is fast approaching! (It’s on 9 March 2025 at Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy.) We’re taking a moment to look back at its history, organisation and past results.

A story that dates back almost eight centuries

The Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges, founded in 1270, has a long history that has seen it transform several times. After the destruction of the hospital during the French Wars of Religion, it opened its doors to patients once again towards the end of the 17th century when the Saint-Laurent room was created in 1692, housing 10 beds. The hospital became financially independent thanks to donations, especially from the winemaking estate attached to it. In fact, over the centuries, some patients have donated land in return for their care – land located in the Côte de Nuits planted with vines.

Today, the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges is a public health establishment that was amalgamated with the Hospices Civils de Beaune (which was created itself in 1443) in 2016. In 2018, a new building, the Saint-Laurent Hospital, dedicated to caring for the elderly, opened its doors. It was partly financed by the profits from the winemaking estate, and it can treat 80 people at any one time. The historic building remains visible in the centre of the town.

A hospital with vineyards – a unique set-up

The winemaking estate, managed by Jean-Marc Moron and a team of winemakers, covers 12.4 hectares and is tended to in an environmentally sustainable manner. No insecticides or herbicides have been used for at least 15 years. The grapes are harvested by hand and careful work in the cellar allows the team to create classic wines with great precision.

The estate is mainly made up of plots found around the town of Nuits-Saint-Georges, which includes eight villages appellation and nine premier cru plots. When weather conditions are in its favour, 19 different wines are produced, reflecting the diversity of the terroirs in the appellation. One of them comes from a plot called Les Didiers, which is solely owned by the Hospice de Nuit, and the estate also owns a rare white Nuits-Saint-Georges plot called Premier Cru Les Terres Blanches. A plot in Gevrey-Chambertin completes the spectrum of terroirs.

A wine auction, the sole source of income

9 March 2025 marks the 64th Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges auction with iDealwine leading proceedings. The wines are sold in 228-litre Burgundian barrels called “pièces”. Each year, one barrel is put up for auction with the funds raised going to a humanitarian or medical charity. It’s known as the “pièce de charité”. This tradition continues to honour the generosity of those who donated vines to the estate. The person who places the winning bid entrusts their barrels to a Burgundian wine merchant to mature it. Once the wine is ready to be bottled, the buyer can choose the size of the bottles, which will be adorned with the famous Hospices de Nuits label personalised with their name.

With the exception of the charity barrel, the profits from the auction are used to finance the running of the winemaking estate and to support the Hospices de Nuits-Saint-Georges and other establishments within the Hospices Civils de Beaune. The money raised allows the hospital to make investments that improve patient care.

The results of the 2023 and 2024 Hospices de Nuits auctions

The 62nd and 63rd auctions were quite different.

2023 was a record year for the auction, raising €3.6 million, an increase of 45% on 2022. The 2022 vintage, which was of brilliant quality, was particularly abundant, offering 160 pièces for the auction (157 red and 3 white).

In 2024, in a calming market, particularly for Burgundy grand crus, the auction saw the money raised decrease by 37%, amounting to €2.3 million. However, the 2023 vintage was comparable with the one from 2022 in terms of quantity and quality.

iDealwine will bring down the hammer at the 2025 auction

This year, the auction will sell wine from the 2024 vintage which had historically low yields (caused by frost, hail and mildew) but the wine produced has wonderful quality. Just 20% of the usual amount of wine was produced in 2024, which equates to 36.5 pièces that’ll be going under the hammer on 9 March 2025.

To know more about the 2024 vintage and the Hospice, go to the iDealwine website. Don’t miss this fantastic auction! Register to place bids now

See all of Burgundy wines for sale on iDealwine

Also on the iDealwine blog:

Burgundy Grand Crus: Clos de Vougeot, its history and characteristics