🍷 Magnum
Also known as: magnum, magnum bottle, 1.5 litre bottle, 1.5 l bottle, 150 cl bottle, double bottle
The magnum is a wine bottle of 1.5 litres, equal to two standard bottles, and the largest volume on the EU lists for still and sparkling wine.
A magnum is a 1.5-litre wine bottle, two standard bottles in one. The Comité Champagne lists it first after the 75 cl bottle, and in the annex to EU Directive 2007/45/EC it is the largest volume for both still and sparkling wine.
The best evidence about it comes from a 2023 study in ACS Omega. A team around Liger-Belair measured dissolved CO2 in 13 champagne vintages. They were 25 to 47 years old. Some had been kept in 75 cl bottles and some in magnums. The magnum vintages kept their gas far better. The authors conclude that a bigger bottle keeps a champagne able to bubble in the glass for longer.
Gas matters most in champagne: the second fermentation happens in the bottle itself and builds about 6 bar of pressure. Yet the study looked at champagne closed with crown caps used before the 2000s, and it does not speak for still wines.
Put the magnum in context. A Half bottle (0.375 l) is a quarter of it, and a Jeroboam doubles it. Wine bottle sizes shows the whole ladder, and Bottle ageing covers what the container does to maturing wine.
Facts
| Bottle size | 1.5 l (two standard bottles) 1 |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | Directive 2007/45/EC: largest volume on the still and sparkling lists 3 |
| Shelf life and storage conditions | Champagne in magnums retains dissolved CO2 better (13 vintages, 25-47 years) 2 |
| Document identifier | ACS Omega 2023, 8(25), Liger-Belair et al. 2 |
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Magnum → kind of → 🍷 Wine bottle sizes → kind of → 🍷 Wine bottle ← packed in ← 🍷 Wine
Links
- Next step
- 🏷️ Bottle ageing
- Part of
- 🍷 Wine bottle sizes
Frequently asked questions
How many standard bottles make a magnum?
Two. A magnum holds 1.5 litres against 0.75 litre for a standard bottle.
Is it true that a magnum ages wine better?
For champagne there is evidence. A 2023 study found vintages in magnums kept dissolved CO2 far better than the same vintages in 75 cl bottles over 25 to 47 years. It did not test still wine.
What did the magnum study actually measure?
Dissolved CO2 in 13 successive champagne vintages. The authors also proposed a model and a shelf-life formula based on bottle geometry.
What is the largest size in EU wine rules?
The annex to Directive 2007/45/EC stops at 1,500 ml, the magnum, for both still and sparkling wine.
What comes after a magnum?
The Jeroboam, 3 litres or four bottles, then the Rehoboam at 4.5 litres and the Methuselah at 6.
Similar
🍷 Half bottle (0.375 l) · 🍷 Jeroboam · 🍷 Methuselah · 🍷 Salmanazar · 🍷 Balthazar · 🍷 Nebuchadnezzar
Sources
- Comité Champagne. Factsheet Champagne Bottle Sizes
- Liger-Belair G. et al. Losses of Yeast-Fermented CO2 during Prolonged Champagne Aging: Yes, the Bottle Size Does Matter! ACS Omega 2023, 8(25)
- Directive 2007/45/EC (nominal quantities for prepacked products), Annex: wine volumes
- Comité Champagne. Factsheet Champagne Making Process