Wine's world

The Hospices de Beaune sales last Sunday reached the record sum of 29.0 M€ for 802 barrels, blowing away the previous record dating from 2018 at 13.9 M€ for 828 barrels.

This means a twofold increase in price in 4 years (exactly 115%), considering that the two vintages sold, 2018 and 2022, are of comparable quality.

We can certainly see here the increased generosity of buyers for this charity (Beaune hospital), but also the insatiable craze of the whole World for the great wines of Burgundy, and especially Côte d'Or.

In the same vein, the latest ranking of winesearcher.com is edifying: among the 50 most expensive wines in the world, 45 are from Burgundy (and none from Bordeaux, nor even Petrus or Le Pin). Moreover, Burgundy holds the first 8 places in the ranking with Domaines Leroy, d'Auvenay, de la Romanée-Conti, Georges Roumier and Leflaive.

* Côte d'Or, which is the name of the department where the great Burgundian vineyards are located, literally means "golden hill".

Treasury Wine Estates, Australia's largest wine group with 13,000 hectares of vineyards worldwide (Oceania, Asia, America, Europe) and owner of the flagship Penfolds, has set its sights on the Haut-Médoc for a few years:

- Cambon-la-Pelouse, 65 ha in Haut-Médoc, acquired in 2019,
- Belle-Vue, 15 ha in Haut-Médoc, acquired in 2021,
- Gironville, 5 ha in Haut-Médoc, acquired in 2021,
- Bolaire, 7 ha in Bordeaux (but bordering Haut-Médoc), acquired in 2021.

Moreover, T.W.E. has just acquired this month Lanessan (+ Lachesnaye), a vast agricultural estate of 390 ha including 80 ha of vineyards in Haut-Médoc. In a short time, T.W.E. will have become one of the most important producers of the Médoc and nothing indicates that they will stop there (by enlarging for example the vineyard within the Lanessan domain?).

With nearly 35,000 acres, Gironde is since 2019 the 1st French department by its surface of organically cultivated vineyards [source Ministry of Agriculture].

Gironde is followed by 8 departments of the south-east and then by the Loire Valley (Anjou):

      1. Gironde : 34370 ac
      2. Hérault (Mediterranean coast): 30280 ac
      3. Gard (Mediterranean coast): 29530 ac
      4. Vaucluse (Rhone Valley): 27100 ac
      5. Aude (Mediterranean coast) : 21600 ac
      6. Var (Mediterranean coast): 20100 ac
      7. Pyrénées Orientales (Mediterranean coast): 12840 ac
      8. Drôme (Rhone Valley): 9840 ac
      9. Bouches-du-Rhône (Mediterranean coast): 8730 ac
    10. Maine-et-Loire (Loire Valley): 7200 ac

In Europe, France is in 3rd position with 232300 ac (14% of the national vineyard), behind Spain (280300 ac) and Italy (263000 ac).