A 1945 La Tâche, Then Beaune: Burgundy’s Two-Week Auction Season

Burgundy’s collectors have two dates in the diary. On Friday 7 November, Bonhams sells a bottle of 1945 La Tâche from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Paris, estimated at €15,000–€20,000, Decanter reports. Eight days later, on Sunday 15 November, the Hospices de Beaune hold their 166th wine sale, the world’s oldest charity wine auction.

Why 1945 is a story in a bottle

The 1945 vintage was tiny, cut by spring frosts and summer storms. After that harvest, the last pre-phylloxera vines of the Romanée-Conti vineyard were pulled up and replanted with vine material from La Tâche. The domaine made no Romanée-Conti from 1946 to 1951, so La Tâche became its flagship in those years. This bottle has belonged since 1974 to the owner of a Bordeaux grand cru estate, according to Decanter. “In a lifetime, the opportunity to see, touch and bring a bottle of La Tâche 1945 to market is as rare as the bottle itself,” said Amayès Aouli, Bonhams’ global head of wine and spirits.

• 30 lots consigned directly by Domaine Hubert Lignier, including a single bottle of Clos de la Roche 1978 at €1,500–€2,500.
• Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brulées 2014, three bottles: €8,500–€11,000.
• Bollinger R.D. Extra Brut 1995, six magnums: €2,500–€3,200.
• An online sale of no-reserve wines runs until 12 November.

Beaune, 15 November: 432 barrels and a first

The 2026 catalogue lists 432 pièces, or barrels, 348 red and 84 white, plus two white feuillettes, according to Vinabox and Dijon Beaune Mag. The Pièce des Présidents, the charity barrel, is a Clos de Vougeot grand cru for the first time, from a parcel donated by the Faiveley family. Its proceeds go to ARSLA, which fights Charcot’s disease, and DEBRA France, which supports people with epidermolysis bullosa. Sotheby’s runs the sale, and its New York office will host a room for American bidders. Last year’s sale totalled €18,754,670, and the charity barrel fetched €400,000.

One sale is about a vintage nobody can ever make again; the other, about one that was picked only weeks ago.

And the 2026 wine itself? A hot, dry, early year. Picking began on 15 August and lasted nine days, La Gazette France reports; the crop is expected to be small, and the young wines show powerful tannins, concentrated aromas and high alcohol. Remember that buying at Beaune means buying a barrel that a négociant will raise and bottle, not cases to take home that evening. If you are tempted, ask a merchant who bids there about fees and timing before you raise your hand.