Burgundy Prices Down at NSG Hospices Auction

There has been talk about falling Burgundy wine prices, and I have been seeing some clear indications of a weaker market – for some wines.

The Hospices de Nuits auction March 10 resulted in quite a decline in key prices, a result that indicates future price drops for certain types of wine.

The overall auction result of €2,281,500 decreased by 36.68% from last year’s event, even after the auction manicure that always happens with the festive cuvees.

One precision: 150 barrels were offered in this year’s auction of the 2023s, whereas the 2022 vintage last year sold 160 barrels. Correcting for this difference brings the price drop down to 30%. Still: 30%!

Auction results

One needs to understand the nature of these benefit auctions. They are supporting charitable activities, organisations, and events, so the higher the results, the better, at least as far as the organisers and beneficiaries re concerned.

Charity auctions are a part of the marketing of Burgundy wines, and the towns and villages that organise such events use them to boost the local vignerons and vineyards.

This is where the results get a bit blurry, as the top cuvees are often artificially boosted in price, trying to increase the chances of a Grand Cru promotion.

People know my stance on this, and I will not generate any goodwill or brownie points by repeating it. I see no reason why Didiers and Les Saint Georges should be valued significantly higher than the best cuvees from the north of Nuits. Yes, they are often bigger wines (and frequently in a somewhat outdated way). But better? Rarely, and certainly not something that merits prices much higher than, say, Corvees Pagets, Boudots, or Murgers.

The best wines I have tasted from Nuits-Saint-Georges overall are from Premeaux (Clos de Corvees included), and the area north of the town towards Vosne-Romanee. This is my view, based on experience.

That said, I can easily see more modern, better Hospices-wines made from Didiers or Les Saint Georges with some changes put in place. But I digress…

Implications

I don’t think this auction will rock the price boat by itself. But coupled with increasing market resistance to ever-higher prices, I would expect a reaction, and a correction in the prices of certain wines and segments.

I fear the worst consequence of high prices could be their effect on Burgundy in the restaurant business in many countries. Burgundian wines will slowly but surely be removed from many restaurant wine lists and replaced by more affordable wines. People can’t afford them; I am already seeing this today, even in good restaurants.

The same thing happened to Bordeaux, and Burgundians, please note: Some 20 years later, high-end Bordeaux is still not back on wine lists in any significant role.

Lesser wines, insignificant, poor, or plainly awful wines will suffer the most in the market without a price correction. They will become almost impossible to sell, perhaps even regardless of price.

For the top 10% of Burgundies, I expect to see price stagnation (at least), but also downward adjustments in prices in the shorter term. There is a lot of wine to sell from the 2022 and 2023 vintages.