A Chinese entrepreneur set a new record at the annual Hospices de Beaune wine auction after paying €400,000 for the Pièce des Présidents, the event’s headline charity barrel.
Li Zhongliang, a Beijing-based businessman whose company develops artificial-intelligence tools for medical use, secured the winning bid on Sunday. Visibly emotional as he took the stage, Li said he hoped the purchase would serve a symbolic purpose. “At last, we hope for world peace and love,” he told the audience.
The amount marks the highest price ever paid for a Premier Cru barrel in the president’s lot. A previous €400,000 price was recorded in 2010 for a Beaune Premier Cru Nicolas Rolin, though that wine was sold in a larger 500-litre barrel, compared with this year’s standard 228-litre pièce.
The record price for a Presidents’ Barrel was set in 2022, when a barrel of Corton Grand Cru sold for €810,000.
Proceeds from the president’s barrel will go to two children’s health organizations: Enfance et Handicap en Côte-d’Or, which develops AI tools, robots and exoskeletons for children with disabilities, and the Robert-Debré Child Brain Institute, a major centre for neurodevelopmental research using imaging and AI.
This year’s auction saw 539 barrels sold — 428 reds and 111 whites — generating €18.8 million, the third-highest total in the event’s history. The average hammer price rose 4.6% to €33,893, marking the fifth consecutive year in which the average barrel price exceeded €30,000.
Average prices per barrel reached €27,480 for reds, €58,580 for whites, €86,290 for Grands Crus, and €23,180 for Premiers Crus, according to the organizers.
