2025 : Step by step
This year again, we’re all hopping aboard for this thrilling adventure that’s the Annual Hospices de Beaune Wine Sale !
Welcome !
Come along with us first for a quick spin through the 2025 vintage (from grape-growing in the vines right up to its cozy start in barrel at the Hospices de Beaune), then let’s snuggle up together for a fun recap of that very first tasting on October 24, 2025—so we can really get to know each cuvée’s personality and all the magic this harvest has to offer!
A Quick Spin on the 2025 Vintage
A 2025 vintage that’s pure “Burgundian” with two speeds—depending on when you picked: before or after the rain!
Weather and Winemaking :
2025 kicks off with groundwater reserves nicely topped up. Winter brings a stretch of dry, below-zero chill—perfect for getting the soils in tip-top shape.
The vines wake up around March 25, slotting 2025 into the “late-starter” club. Bud-break hits full swing between April 4 and 6 during a mini-summer spell. The greenery just gallops ahead. We’re already spotting fewer flower clusters than usual—a sneaky early hint that the harvest will be on the petite side.
Late April flips the script with rain and a cold snap, but May roars in hot and sunny. No spring frost for 2025—phew! The month stays gloriously bright with just a few localized thunderstorms dumping serious rain here and there.
Our organically farmed vines are looking healthy and steady.
Flowering kicks off late May in warm, dry conditions, depending on the patch, and wraps up around June 10 under cooler, gloomier skies. Cue the dreaded coulure and millerandage—yep, they’re here. The crop will be small, especially from old Chardonnay vines. No doubt about it now.
From June 10 to July 5, the Côte d’Or Chamber of Agriculture calls it “…the longest June heatwave on record, beating even 1976.”
Under that kind of sizzle, growth rockets along and 2025 flips from late to early! Chardonnay leads the charge: maturity checks on August 19 shock everyone—Meursault is ripe! Harvest there starts August 22!
Pinot Noir isn’t far behind: on August 25, we dive into Corton (not the usual front-runner Volnay). Everything’s turned upside down!
The bunches are super healthy (just 3% sorting needed), perfectly ripe, and there’s nothing to gain by waiting. Especially since rain’s forecast from late August onward.
In the end, out of the 60 hectares, 52.5 ha get harvested before the rain rolls in!
Winemaking:
The whites are whole-cluster pressed, while the reds are fully destemmed, no exceptions!
No big changes to the white wine process—except a little chaptalization for just two cuvées.
The whites? Crystal-clear aromas, full, concentrated mouths—yum!
The reds are vinified parcel by parcel—every vineyard, every climat kept separate—to chase that perfect precision.
They’re silky and bursting with fruit: black cherry notes define the vintage at the Hospices.
Deep, vibrant colors. Medium-bodied mouths, structured by round, refined tannins. (That’s Ludivine’s magic touch!)
At the Hospices de Beaune, 2025 is shaping up to be a Grand Vintage!!!
There’ll be 538 barrels and 2 half-barrels up for grabs at the sale (compared to 439 barrels in 2024 and 753 in 2023).
Tasting conditions:
October 24, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
All wines are aged in new oak—except the Chablis 1er Cru.
Every red has finished alcoholic fermentation and is completely dry.
Malolactic fermentation? Not a single one has started yet!
5 hand-picked coopers:
- Damy for all the whites
- Billon for Pernand-Vergelesses, Monthelie, and Auxey-Duresses
- François Frères for Beaune 1er Cru, Volnay-Santenots, and Pommard 1er Cru
- Ermitage for Volnay 1er Cru and Pommard
- Taransaud for Corton, Echezeaux, Clos de la Roche, and Mazis-Chambertin
And one taster in top form, armed with razor-sharp taste buds!
This is Ludivine Griveau’s 11th vintage at the Hospices de Beaune—and quite possibly her greatest triumph yet!
Before we dive into those famous cuvées, a quick reminder about the “Hospices de Beaune by Anima Vinum” subscription (just click the link)!
Standout Whites :
My top thrills:
Whites :
- Pouilly-Fuissé
- Saint-Romain
- Every single Meursault cuvée – they’re fantastic!!!
- Corton-Charlemagne “François de Salins”
- Bâtard-Montrachet (a total beast!)
Reds :
Here’s the thing – I’m totally stumped: not a single off-note in the reds. Nothing to toss!
The most consistent zones: Corton, Beaune, and Pommard 1er Crus.
A bit more varied: Volnay and Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Crus – but still, each has one or two absolute stunners.
The Côte de Nuits Grands Crus welcome a brand-new cuvée:
Clos de Vougeot “F. Faiveley” Grand Cru (2 barrels).
Ludivine vinified it like an infusion: ultra-elegant and airy – not your classic Clos de Vougeot power, but wow, it’s gorgeous!
I’ll send you the full hit list of top cuvées and our targets soon!
The 2025 Pièce des Présidents will be a … Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens cuvée.
It’ll go under the hammer to support EHCO – Enfance et Handicap en Côte-d’Or and the Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant, two amazing groups championing inclusion and research into disability and neurodevelopment.
How to Subscribe with ANIMA VINUM, the Top Artisan Buyer at the Hospices de Beaune Sale
Hey there, wine adventurers! Ready to dive into this year’s Hospices de Beaune magic with us at ANIMA VINUM? We’re thrilled to guide you through a seamless, heartfelt way to snag those stellar cuvées—keeping things artisanal, terroir-focused, and utterly delicious. Here’s the friendly lowdown on how it all works:
In the week leading up to the big November 16 sale, we’ll share our handpicked target cuvées along with our maximum subscription prices (that’s our secret sauce for aiming at those top-bid goals). It’s all about transparency and excitement!
You can subscribe to as many bottles as your heart desires—in multiples of 6 bottles, 3 magnums, or 1 jeroboam per cuvée you fancy. Easy peasy!
We’ll accept your subscriptions right up until the sale kicks off on Sunday, November 16, 2025, at 2:30 p.m..
Starting Monday, November 17, we’ll confirm your actual purchase prices (based on the auction results)—and don’t worry, they won’t exceed the targets we set pre-sale. Promise!
If any of our targeted cuvées don’t hit the sweet spot on price, no stress—you can easily roll over your subscription to other gems if you’d like.
Your subscription gets the green light once we receive your payment for the pre-TVA, pre-shipping amount. Simple as that!
By teaming up with ANIMA VINUM, you’re choosing the artisanal soul of terroir wines: long, hands-off aging; hand-bottled reds; premium, cork-free materials (think corks air-dried in the Tramontane wind for 15-18 months, washed sans chemicals or peroxides, zero cork taint risk); sturdy wooden cases; hefty bottles; hand-waxed grands crus and magnums; and even a custom label featuring your name as the buyer. It’s like wrapping your wines in a love letter to Burgundy!
You’ll get an exclusive invite to Burgundy in spring 2026 for a barrel tasting of your subscribed cuvées—mid-elevage, straight from the source. Pure joy!
Your wines will be ready for delivery by late 2027, after settling the balance (TVA + shipping fees)—unless a cuvée calls for an extra-long nap in the cellar.
Spread the word—feel free to loop in your wine-loving friends and family, and why not bundle your subscriptions for even more fun?
Want to follow our Escargot Vigneron’s Hospices adventure step by step? Check it out here: https://www.animavinum.fr/le-millesime-2025-pas-a-pas/
Mark your calendars—we’ll drop our official subscription details around November 14, 2025 (keep an eye on your inbox)!
The whole Escargot Vigneron crew is here for you—reach out anytime for help with this once-in-a-lifetime subscription. Let’s make some memories over these magnificent wines! ? What’s your dream cuvée this year?
