Buying Non-750ml Formats...Regrets and Advice

WINE TALK
41

To those who prefer to open one magnum rather than two 750s: why is that?

Also: why are magnums fun/interesting/always good (compared to two 750s)?

42

If trying to pour a wine for a group of 8 or more the mag makes sense.

43

I’ve done this twice. Blind tasting a .750 and .375 of the same wine same year.
2001 Larkmead (at 17 years old)
Older Ridge zin (can’t remember the year-I can look it up)
In all honesty I could not tell any difference. At 40-50 years, I’m not sure, but I’m willing to try.
Regarding cost, when you catch em on sale, seems like they’re REALLY on sale.

44

Why does it make sense? Seems to me I can put a botte of each 750 at the ends of a table so everyone can access more wine or have 2 people pour to cover all glasses faster.

45

Because the two bottles could be different, and one bottle is one bottle fewer to open.

Filling glasses quickly is an objective? I suppose if the idea is to get trashed…

46

Like others, I don’t really understand why this makes no sense. I have had excellent experience with aging 375s. I suppose a double blind experiment could (but might not) validate the common assumption that 375s and 750s age in a materially different way (I accept the common wisdom although I have never tested it). But when one likes wines that are meant to age, a slightly more advanced maturity curve is not necessarily a bad thing, especially for current buying of recent vintage reds. I buy quality bdx and burgs in 375 whenever I can find them at a good price, and I wish I had been more conscientious in doing so earlier in my life. We also have a few (not enough) half bottles of champagne. There, I really do suspect the smaller bottles produce a lower quality product with age so I don’t buy many of them and tend to drink them younger.

As others have also said, 375s are perfect when drinking alone or when I want a glass of red after finishing a bottle of champagne. I also anticipate drinking more 375s in retirement (currently, we don’t drink at all on weekdays but I suspect that may change a bit when the distinction between weekdays and weekends becomes less meaningful).

As for mags, I really have no use for them and own maybe 2 or 3 currently. I can’t imagine the circumstance in which we would ever drain one ourselves, and if we have company, I can always open two bottles and usually would prefer the opportunity to have more variety at the table.

Last point: my recent experience with the Repour stoppers shows some initial promise and that could make 750s more serviceable for me. If that proves out after further research, it might provide a workable alternative to 375s.

47

You are absolutely correct… 2 bottles could be different. 1 can be flawed and not the other. Leaving you with at least 1 750ml. Flawed Mag, go bye bye. [dance-clap.gif]

48

Love 375s for dessert wines and everyday wines. They may age faster, but I seem to be doing so also, so we are a match. Wish I could find more good reds in 375s

Own one magnum - Bereche Champagne that I received as a gift.

49

Count me as another one who has no real issues with 375s. A slightly advanced aging curve is a benefit in many cases.

That said, I own almost no 375s other than sweet wines and only 3 magnums. Inconvenient to store and there are only rare occasions where I’d open a mag of anything but Champagne.

50

I love 375s, I’ve posted more recent notes from 375 than most ppl on here.

I just don’t think they are ideal for aging. They’re not as widely available and can be hard to store. If you have a cellar where it’s convenient to stack cases of 375 in OWC, then sure, they are great, and possibly they’ll age ok, but even then they will almost certainly be more expensive than 750. If you can find high quality 375 for the same price or close to the same price to 750 and have appropriate storage than go for it.

I’ve only seen a good selection of 375s for bdx, Sauternes, some champagne (krug) and a few burgs (mugnier). I prefer to use them for near term aging and early drinking. As I said, YMMV.

51

2 corks doubles the odds.of TCA taint, however.

David,
The “the same” point is the best practical point
I’ve heard (aside.from slower aging). Ibthink that qualifies as "better " and arguably “more fun,” but I’d think two 750s “more interesting.”

Interesting conversation. [cheers.gif]

52

Would love ideas for other Burgs and Barolos regularly available in 375s!

53

Two bottles doubles the chances of cork taint but as the percentage is still pretty low, even doubling it gives you a major opportunity not to have cork taint in one of the bottles. As for the aging curve, I think it’s an interesting idea in theory, but given how most wine is consumed, I wonder if it is really important at all. Unless you’re drinking the wines side by side in a blind format, not knowing which is which and looking for differences, it seems like the theoretical slower aging isn’t going to be a big factor.

Not to mention - do you really want slower aging? I love older wine but I don’t love the idea of waiting 30 years if I could wait for only 27!

54

I agree with you. I don’t think slower aging is always a good thing. I think there’s a balance that each drinker needs to find. Obviously a younger person might and can wait many many years but others cant and don’t want to.

55

Because they can?

If you have a structured wine, the format might age it a little more quickly, but they can still age.

56

I love 375s for:

  • Single-course pairing
  • other situations where a couple of glasses is all that is called for - many examples already cited by others
  • Lower-cost look at how an expensive wine is aging
  • Lower-cost look at a wine I’m curious to try

I love Rhys 500s and would buy more in 500mL if it was common.

I own a few dozen mags and last opened one 4 or 5 years ago. I anticipate I have enough magnums for a lifetime at that pace. If no other alternative exists and the premium isn’t too high, I’ll buy magnum formats.

I have no interest in larger formats. I did buy a 3L of Champagne for a party I threw when I got my Ph.D. That was fun, but really hard to saber.

For me, I think that 375s of Bordeaux futures would have been a good choice (a mild regret) to get a better view of Bordeaux. I really wish my sources would offer mixed cases to allow for a sampling across producers/regions. I’d subscribe.

Advice? Factor the cost of magnums and your consumption/social habits to determine how much they will fit your lifestyle. Buy 375s without fear of the “age faster than the larger format” problem.

Cheers,
fred

57

If you are talking two different wines then sure - more fun, more interesting.

But if you have eight people around a table, and two different 750s, then you only get 3 oz. or so of each wine.

58

375s: I like having some 375s around for school nights where my wife and I only want a glass+ each. I don’t have many though, because finding good 375s at a reasonable price compared to 750s is hard, plus the selection is not nearly as diverse. I’d love to have a 375 of Arneis, or Greco, or Albarino, etc. when I want one glass of white with dinner…there’s not a lot out there. But my real issue is storage. They don’t fit in the slots in my cellar. For the diamond shaped racks, they are fine if they are Bordeaux style bottles, but not if Burgundy style…they just don’t stack well. So all in, I have a few, but don’t really pursue them.

Magnums: I have dedicated large slots for 30 magnums in my cellar. My experience has been similar to many of the comments above. We only pull out the magnums when others are over, and in that case, I usually like to have diversity, so if there’s another couple over I’d rather pull out two different 750s than a magnum. They are fun from time to time for parties, and I pulled one out when we had 12 people for Thanksgiving, and it was cool. So I buy magnums from time to time, but wouldn’t buy too many.

Larger: I had a 9L for a party once and it was a great experience and very cool for the party. But I would only buy something 3L or larger with a use in mind.

59

I like the idea of magnums, but I so rarely have an opportunity to open one. I’ve had 2 different ones “on deck” for over 2 years. The thing is, when I get together with a large enough group, there are usually other “wine people” in the group so we open a lot of different wines. A magnum of one wine can seem like too much in a setting like that. I agree that Champagne is the great exception. Whenever I ever bring a magnum of really nice Champagne to a gathering, even if it’s an offline where way too much wine gets opened, the Champagne gets finished. I suppose if I entertained more I might open more magnums.

60

Mugnier Marachale and quite a few village wines are mostly what I’ve found. Pousse d’Or has some village and premier cru as well.

For Barolo I’ve only seen vietti castiglione mostly.