Size really does count when it comes to investing in wine

MOST IMBIBERS ARE more than happy with the arrival of a magnum of fine wine at their table – at least it ensures a refill or two. But wine merchants apparently think a little differently if their apocryphal complaint is to be believed: “The trouble with the magnum is that it is too big for one, but not big enough for two!”

This logic seems to be echoing in China. There has yet to be any premium paid for magnums or the rarer, larger-bottle formats. For example, Carruades de Lafite, the most sought after fine wine in China, is worth more in the regular 750ml bottles than any other size. However, that wine’s main attraction for mainland consumers could be the label, which is virtually identical to that of its big brother, Château Lafite-Rothschild, a wine that is nearly 10 times more expensive. If you park a bottle of Carruades de Lafite on your table, the less wine savvy may perceive that you reek of class and good taste.

There is no mystery why 1.5 liter bottles are called magnums – it is the Latin word for “great.” But no one seems to know why larger wine formats are mostly named after biblical figures. There is the Jeroboam (five liters), the Methuselah (eight liters), the Salmanazar (12 liters), the Balthazar (16 liters), and the massive Nebuchadnezzar (20 liters). An exception is the non-biblical Imperial (six liters).

Larger bottles of wine mature more slowly, so if wine is properly stored it should ultimately be more alluring in these sizes.

Collectors know that larger bottles of wine increase more in price than regular-sized bottles. When the wine market was more traditional, the extra price only kicked in when the wines approached maturity, but now it is within the first two years of bottling. Prices can rise between 10 percent and 25 percent, depending on the rarity. But this only really applies to top-of-the-range wines that cost more than HK$500 a bottle. Vintage Champagne has a huge premium for magnums and even more for Jeroboams. Magnums of vintage Krug are nearly double the price of regular-sized bottles and Jeroboams command astronomical prices. This is because most go to nightclubs to be sold to customers wanting to impress their colleagues and are prepared to pay a high price for that pleasure. 

Insiders say that Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, makers of the world’s most illustrious Burgundy, reserves its finest vintage for the larger bottles, although the winery will not confirm this.

For wine lovers, magnums and other large-sized bottles are a way of experiencing an elegant wine long after it has stopped being interesting in regular-sized bottles, for example, Bordeaux from the 1985, 1981 and 1970 vintages. A wine expert friend went to a tasting of Château Lafite 1959, where wine samples came from all bottle sizes. He concluded that the half-bottles were distinctly aged, while the magnums were superior to the regular bottles, but other larger bottle sizes were not noticeably superior to magnums.

There is one wine that costs more in smaller bottles – Sauterne. Half-bottles of this wine command a premium because they mature faster, so the pleasure is quicker to arrive. However, as they age (at around 20 years) they lose their edge, while regular-sized bottles and magnums are still improving.
Buy your favorite wines in big formats, especially if you intend to break them open for a special event, as nothing is more pleasing for a wine lover than seeing a large bottle of great wine resting on a table.

Not everyone gets the point, though. At recent party in the Cotswolds for a famous media tycoon, celebrity guests were served Imperials of Château Latour 1985. Unaware of what was being offered to them, the guests left a few bottles of this wonderful wine untouched. It was no surprise then, that once the party was over, wait staff were seen staggering out of the party marquee with smiles on their faces and all the Imperials were drained.