(WineSpectator) - Celebrating its 156th year, Burgundy's annual Hospices de Beaune wine auction on Nov. 20 failed to top last year's record total, but organizers were happy considering it was the second-highest sum achieved by the charity auction.

“Given the current economic and political climate, we are expecting prices to decline a bit,” said Jasper Morris, senior consultant for Christie’s Hospices de Beaune Auction, before the action began. His prediction proved correct as the final results came to $8.9 million, a 26 percent drop compared to 2015's $11.7 million.

It would have been hard to top last year's event, which featured a special lot to support victims of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks. And the auction is almost always a barometer of expectations for Burgundy's latest vintage. While quality is reportedly high for the 2016s, it was a challenging year, marked by April frost and summer hailstorms.