Hospices de Beaune 2025: A Pommard Les Rugiens for Hope and Innovation

Two charities dedicated to childhood health and inclusion benefit from the 165th Hospices de Beaune auction.

Unveiled today at Sotheby’s Paris galleries, the Pièce des Présidents of the 165th Hospices de Beaune Wine Auction will be a Pommard Premier Cru Les Rugiens, a jewel among Beaune’s crus. The proceeds from this unique barrel will benefit two associations dedicated to children’s health and inclusion: EHCO (Enfance et Handicap en Côte-d’Or) and the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute, represented on 16 November by Alice Taglioni, Cédric Klapisch and Martin Solveig.
Organised by Sotheby’s, the wine auction will feature 539 barrels from the 2025 vintage, crafted from the 60-hectare of Domaine des Hospices de Beaune over 85% of which is classified as Premier or Grand Cru. All proceeds directly support the Hospices Civils de Beaune, helping fund vital projects including the construction of a new 15,000 m² hospital building, a digital overhaul of patient systems, the rebuilding of Seurre Hospital, and the acquisition of a €2 million surgical robot.

For Marie-Anne Ginoux, Managing Director of Sotheby’s France, this fifth consecutive partnership reflects “a deep and enduring commitment”, with global outreach now extending to São Paulo, Bangkok and Taipei. Guillaume Koch, Chairman of the Hospices Civils de Beaune, emphasises that the institution “remains first and foremost a human-scale hospital, faithful to its founding values of hospitality, charity and humanity.”
The funds will support two pioneering initiatives: EHCO develops assistive technologies and exoskeletons for workers with disabilities, while the Robert-Debré Institute will launch an unprecedented study of 4,000 children tracked from birth, combining neuroimaging and artificial intelligence to better understand developmental disorders.

According to Ludivine Griveau, the estate’s régisseur, the 2025 vintage stands out for its dual personality: whites of perfect ripeness and lively acidity, and reds of deep colour, supple tannins and remarkable freshness. For the first time, the Pièce des Présidents will come from Les Rugiens, aged in a bespoke cask crafted by La Manufacture Tonnelière La Grange from oak selected in the Bertranges forest.

More than a historic sale, the Hospices de Beaune 2025 stands as a vibrant symbol of how Bourgogne’s wine, science and solidarity continue to shape the future true to a legacy of generosity that has endured for over five centuries.