Any insight into this wine?

In a recent auction purchase, I ended up with several bottles of 1990 Hospices de Beaune Corton 'Cuvée Docteur Peste' (Louis Jadot). I know what it is I've got, but can find no information on Cellartracker or elsewhere about how evolved these bottles might be. Has anyone had this wine or, barring that possibility, have any thoughts about the ageworthiness of the Cuvée Docteur Peste or how Jadot did in '90. Obviously, we're going to open one up soon to check for ourselves unless someone comes back and tells me that these wines are still shut down hard.

Thanks for any advice,
Mark Lipton

Hey Mark, I'm not going to be fantastically helpful here, but will let you know these Hospice bottlings are tough to find any kind of reviews on. Since many tend to be special cuvees and made in small amounts, you won't find a lot of information on them. I simply reference the producer and the village-vineyard site to make an educated judgment on. As a 1990, I wouldn't hesitate to drink it

I'm with Mark S, it's pretty seldom one sees notes on HdB bottlings. Typically one barrel I think, and often kept partially in house. The Dr Peste plot I think is bigger, but still not a lot of info out there. But has anyone had a '90 that was shut down hard? I think with the style of the vintage I'd be more worried about drinking too late than too soon (though a Corton should be fine)

Thanks, guys. That's pretty much what I expected to hear but I figure it never hurts to ask first. Dale, the Dr. Peste is sourced from 4-5 different parcels in Le Corton, or so Clive Coates says.

Mark Lipton

I have a question about the Hospices de Beaune wines’. I know that the Hospice own vineyards (through very generous people who have donated, “willed” or “gifted” parcels of vineyards to the Hospice). Does the Hospice (itself) still operate and maintain a winemaking facility? Is it more or less like just a custom crush facility? Or is the responsibility of growing and caring for the vines and grapes, the actual wine production now actually “out-sourced”?

Salute

Mark, I've had the Cuvee Doctor Peste, although not by Jadot and not recently, so not a lot of help, I'm afraid. Based on the bottles I had some years ago, I'd say the wine is probably sturdy and still holding, but likely not elegant and refined. Could be good; probably won't be extraordinary.

Dr. Peste is one of the larger parcels from the Hospice, and it is usually purchased by different producer/eleveurs.

The HdB has it's own staff, and that staff supervises the vineyards (either directly or through contract). They make the wine---or rather, they take it through fermentation. Then the Trois Glorieuses happens, and the Burgundians gather for the auction. Historically, this allowed the producers to get a first look at the general style and quality of the harvest, as they got to sample several different parcels of HdB, and the auction also established a yardstick for prices (with the understanding that the auction prices were always going to be high, since this was a charity/pr event, but anticipating that lower quality vintages wouldn't fare as well as better vintages. And in the last several years, this price-setting function has pretty much disappeared and lost its influence).

After the auction, the winning bidder (it has to be an established house, or the established house acting on behalf of someone else) takes the barrel(s) and "brings them up" according to their own practices. So essentially, all the wine starts out being made by the Hospice team, but finished/aged/matured by the winning bidder.

That's why the bigger parcels, as in Dr. Peste, have different producers. It can be very interesting to compare two different producer versions of a cuvee or vineyard---but that usually tells you more about the house than about the cuvee.

Nice post, Hoke.
I knew Peste was a big parcel, didn't realize different firms could buy in same year.
I think that at least in recent years the Hospices puts everything in new oak, to what some feel is detriment of a lot of wines.

Nice post, Hoke.
I knew Peste was a big parcel, didn't realize different firms could buy in same year.
I think that at least in recent years the Hospices puts everything in new oak, to what some feel is detriment of a lot of wines.

Yeah, they auction off each barrel separately. So Jadot might get a barrel of Dr. Peste at one price, and Picard might get another at a totally different price.

I'm not current on what the Hospice is doing now in terms of vinous practices, so I don't know about the all new oak. I do know one producer I was familiar with who had lots of different barrels of HdB year after year, tended to put the wines in mostly new barrels. He also tended to do a lot of lees stirring too, so it was pretty interventional stuff in that sense.

Thanks Hoke! Figuring, because it was for a good cause, I just thought that other winemakers or assistant winemakers from other Burgundy Domains might “volunteer” or “chip in” with making some of the important decisions before the actual fermentation of the wines. (Maybe “help out with one or two cuvees).

Salute

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I'm not current on what the Hospice is doing now in terms of vinous practices, so I don't know about the all new oak. I do know one producer I was familiar with who had lots of different barrels of HdB year after year, tended to put the wines in mostly new barrels. He also tended to do a lot of lees stirring too, so it was pretty interventional stuff in that sense.

I found this in a Beaune article in John Gilman's excellent newsletter "View from the Cellar" (I think this falls under fair use):
As long as we are on the subject of new oak, we should cast our glance at the Hospices de Beaune. Changes are afoot here in terms of the percentage of new oak that the respective cuvées will be vinified and sold in, and one can only hope that a much more enlightened approach to new oak is about to be implemented at the Hospices. <SNIP> I tasted quite a few 2005 Hospices de Beaune wines and spoke with several vignerons about the challenges that they were confronted with because the Hospices wines all arrive in one hundred percent new oak.

Thanks, Dale!

The last few years they expanded the auction to allow individuals or groups to bid on barrels also, although you still need someone to work with you to finish off the process. On the squires board a few of us got together and bought a some barrels. All the ones that I joined in on ('05, '06 and '07) were completed by Bouchard. A few other barrels were finished by Faiveley. It was fun participating from afar, but it has been a lot of work getting the bottles to the US (bottles going to EU or Australia were less of a challenge). Luckily I'm not doing the leg work. I'm not sure how much of a bargain we got, but the bottles will make for interesting conversations in the years to come.


I've had Hospice wines completed by Boillot from Mazis-Chambertin from '00 and '01 that were very good and I have some '99 Boillot Dr. Peste Corton that will need to sleep for a few years yet.

The last few years they expanded the auction to allow individuals or groups to bid on barrels also, although you still need someone to work with you to finish off the process. On the squires board a few of us got together and bought a some barrels. All the ones that I joined in on ('05, '06 and '07) were completed by Bouchard. A few other barrels were finished by Faiveley. It was fun participating from afar, but it has been a lot of work getting the bottles to the US (bottles going to EU or Australia were less of a challenge). Luckily I'm not doing the leg work. I'm not sure how much of a bargain we got, but the bottles will make for interesting conversations in the years to come.


I've had Hospice wines completed by Boillot from Mazis-Chambertin from '00 and '01 that were very good and I have some '99 Boillot Dr. Peste Corton that will need to sleep for a few years yet.

Thanks for that info.

My company did pretty much the same thing when we were more closely affiliated with Michel Picard, long one of the major bidders at the auction. MP acted as our official agent at the auction. We ended up with a few barrels. The one I most wanted to indulge in when released was the Batards-Montrachet (salivate, salivate); I think there were only two barrels that year. Haven't seen it yet though; suspect I am so low in the food chain as never to see it.

The one I most wanted to indulge in when released was the Batards-Montrachet (salivate, salivate); I think there were only two barrels that year. Haven't seen it yet though; suspect I am so low in the food chain as never to see it.

Now, don't be modest, Hoke. I'm sure that if you really try, you're important enough to convince the top of the chain to let you see it.

Taste it, nah, but they'll let you see it.

Hoke, I stayed away from the whites because of the premox issue. Surprisingly the barrel prices on the whites all came in high, although I know some in HAG did get corton-charlie. I hope that I can safely start buying the whites again; soon. I look forward to your note on the Batards-Montrachet.

I mainly stuck to Mazis and Volnay Santenot--two of my favorite vineyards.

I mainly stuck to Mazis and Volnay Santenot--two of my favorite vineyards.

Well...yeah.


And please feel free to send me the expected dates of decantation on those, and I'll make sure it's on my calendar.

Dan,
Were you able to get your name placed on the label?

Salute

Hoke, you have a standing invitation anytime you are in the area and with any luck my bottles will have finally made the journey from Beaune.


Victor, we had to make up labels (Hospice Auction Group) and some members had special labels made for birth-year and anniversary wines. I'm not sure who designed the labels, but there was a lot of work done by many volunteers to get this done. It sounded so easy at first.