The large formats carry names borrowed from the Bible, most of them kings. A magnum holds 1.5 litres, two bottles. A jeroboam holds 3 litres in Champagne and Burgundy, though in Bordeaux the same name is used for a 5-litre bottle and the 3-litre size is called a double magnum. Above them come the rehoboam at 4.5 litres, the methuselah at 6, called an imperial in Bordeaux, the salmanazar at 9, the balthazar at 12 and the nebuchadnezzar at 15. In Champagne, the bottle and the magnum must go through their second fermentation in their own glass. The larger sizes may be filled from smaller bottles after that fermentation, a practice the appellation rules allow from the jeroboam upwards, and the houses make them in small numbers.

Collectors look for magnums for a practical reason. The volume of wine grows faster than the surface of the cork, so the wine takes in less oxygen per litre and is generally held to age more slowly; a magnum of a great vintage is usually opened later than the bottle. A large bottle is also made for a table: a jeroboam holds four bottles, about twenty-four glasses.

The page holds every bottle of 1.5 litres or more in the cellar. It changes with each arrival, and the formats above 3 litres are rare.

The bottles above are the current selection. See also our Champagne, the full range of Burgundy wines or the new arrivals.