152nd Hospices de Beaune 2012 Wine Auction: A Brilliant Year, Première Dame and Hôte Depardieu
by amantduvin
The theme of the 152nd Hospices de Beaune 2012 Burgundy Wine Auction is to help the young disadvantaged by epilepsy or access to education.
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and the actor-vigneron Gérard Depardieu will be present to auction this year’s President’s Piéce.
Money raised from bidding on the 350 litre barrel of Corton Grand Cru “Charlotte de Dumay” will be shared between two foundations.
“Fondation Idée” is helping fight epilepsy and “Fondation Carla Bruni-Sarkozy” with the patronage of Gérard Depardieu wishes to eliminate illiteracy and encourage education, access to culture and the arts, under the motto “Knowledge is Power”.
As Anthony Hanson highlighted the importance of partership between the growers, the houses that mature the wine, and the exporters of each barrel for auction, the Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Foundation echoed this sentiment with the combined work of terroir and spirit, functioning a little like this to support education, culture and literacy.
Six piéces of Grand Cru Echezeaux Cuvée “Jean-Luc Bissey” have been donated by the fourth generation family producer from Burgundy from 10 ares of very old vines planted by their grandfather after the war at the end of the 1940’s in the heart of “Echezeaux du Dessus”. “The wine is marvellously fleshy, rich and perfumed, with finesse and elegance” said Roland Masse, delighted to receive a third Grand Cru from the Côte de Nuits to join Clos de la Roche and Mazis-Chambertin.
Masse, Director of the Hospices de Beaune vineyards, has declared Burgundy 2012 “a brilliant vintage”.
Depite every meteorological event possible experienced in Burgundy this year – snow, rain, frost, difficult flowering, hail, heat – this has created an environment for perfect concentration in the grapes, and superb wine.
2012 will win with quality over quantity with healthy, rich reds, and fresh whites, says Masse. There is disparity between quality of one vineyard to the next in the Cote de Beaune. The Cote de Nuits escaped all weather and disease pressures.
Roland Masse said that silky tannins with long finish are almost ideal, with perfect quality. Small, ripe, healthy berries give concentration and complexity.
Anthony Hanson tasted the wines for the first time with Masse in Beaune yesterday, and is very excited, comparing 2012 in Burgundy to 1961 in Bordeaux, a small havest resulting from millerandange following poor flowering, which produced perfect concentration.
The smallest harvest in 25 years, Hanson is confident not to worry if there is not so much wine available, as any amateurs passionate about Burgundy will appreciate this subtely, silky, fresh and exciting vintage.
There is a 33% reduction in barrels available for auction compared to last year.
A resurging interest from the USA and evolution of discovery, knowledge and passion from China may help balance the auction results.
85% of the Hospices wines are Grand and Premier Crus.
31 red and 13 white cuvées totalling 44, will be sold as 410 red and 111 white barrels- piéces.
Quality over quantity should encourage bidding on 18 November in the Beaune market place.
The stage is set for the 2012 Hospices Presidents First Lady and Depardieu act at the Hotel de Dieu.
AMANT DU VIN 