Hospices de Beaune, 750 ML CA ONLY

Since 1859 the town of Beaune has hosted an annual charity wine auction known as the Hospices de Beaune. The event is held on the third Sunday of November at the charity’s headquarters, the Hôtel-Dieu, a fifteenth-century hospice famous for its extravagantly tiled roof. All profits go to supporting the Hospices and its charity work.

This event is an incredibly Burgundian affair, and has evolved over the years to include High-End collectors wines, and is now organized by Christies (wine auction specialists). Some incredible wines are auctioned off but the charity’s core asset, other than the Hôtel-Dieu building itself, are its local vineyard holdings. Over the centuries many prime vineyard sites have been added to the charity’s inventory (including land in such famous Grand Cru sites as Clos de la Roche, Mazis-Chambertin and Corton). The rights to the years fruit are auctioned off, and the negociants that purchase those rights are allowed to produce the wine from that vintage with their namesake.

After harvest, these wines were vinted and aged under the watchful eye of Lucien Le Moine, one of the bigger names in the Burgundy winemaking scene.

From Vintus Imports: In two decades of work, Lucien Le Moine has become one of the most talked about Burgundy producers, making some of the most sought after wines from the region.  The approach is extreme – two people, together doing everything by hand, working with a dazzling array of Burgundy’s great terroirs. In the late 1980s, Mounir Saouma’s visit to a Trappist monastery in the Middle East led to a prolonged stay during which he worked in the monastery vineyards and first learned to make wine.  He subsequently studied Viticulture and Oenology in Montpellier, followed by six years working in Burgundy, other areas of France, and California.  During this time he became fascinated by traditional methods of viticulture, vinification, and aging.  In 1999 he decided to push to the extreme all he had seen and experienced, and with his wife Rotem created a small cellar dedicated to the philosophy of making wines of purity and typicity.
This pack includes one bottle of each of the following wines…

2017 Hospices de Beaune, Chablis Premier Cru Côte de Léchet - Cuvée Jean-Marc Brocard
History of the Vineyard: This vineyard is a gift made in 2015 by Monsieur Jean-Marc Brocard, who was born about 30 kms. west of Beaune in Chaudenay-le-Château. Members of the family were often grateful to Beaune’s Hospital, at times of illness. On his marriage to a girl from the Yonne, Monsieur Brocard moved away, while staying within the region, establishing a vineyard estate in Chablis from 1975 onwards. Côte de Léchet is one of the best known 1st Growths on the Left Bank of the River Serein, which runs through Chablis. These vines are approximately 30 years old, situated in the heart of the pebble- rich, south-east facing, steeply-sloped hillside. The vines are low-yielding, and cultivated bio-dynamically.

2017 Hospices de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru - Cuvée Docteur Peste
History of the Vineyard: Jean-Louis Peste was a doctor at the Hospices de Beaune for 30 years in the mid-19th century. His daughter, Baroness du Baÿ, bequeathed a vast estate to the Hôtel-Dieu in his memory, in 1924. Made from 89% fully mature, or very old vines, this Cuvée comes principally (52%) from Chaumes et Voierosses, which is south and south-west-facing land. These vines were planted 4 times between 1976 and 1985. Les Bressandes, whose oldest vines date from 1940, with Les Grèves bring complexity, richness and balance to this Cuvée.