BEAUNE, France (CNN) -- Wine connoisseurs are already declaring 1998 a good year for French wine, even before the drinking public has called out the first "Cheers!"

Wine enthusiasts converged on the Burgundy wine capital of Beaune Sunday, for a charity auction that is seen as the first verdict on the quality of the year's new wine.

This year, the average price jumped 12 percent, despite the economic crisis in Japan, one of the biggest buyers of French wine. But some wine tasters say the 1998 grape has an uneven quality and will not be able to sustain the prices earned at the auction. Some warn the high prices could even spark a consumer backlash.

"The prices we are seeing today are not in line with the reality of the market," said Ciaran Terris, marketing manager of Bouchard Aine et Fils. "This is a charity sale, not indicative of the real wine economy."

In the annual sale, some of the world's most famous and expensive red and white wines are sold to benefit the local Hospice de Beaune charity hospital.

The general public will get its chance to sample the new vintage Thursday, when the 1998 Beaujolais Nouveau goes on the market.

Reuters contributed to this report.