I was just offered a ton of large bottles including a 27 liter.

[Mark_Henderson]

I love large format bottles, but that said, have nothing bigger than 3 litres in my own cellar. Those 6 litre bottles and up do take a fair sized group to enjoy. I have been to a friend’s birthday bashes where 15 litre champagne bottles have been opened but somehow they do seem to go down remarkably quickly! The biggest issue pouring them is the wave effect that you can get inside with wine spurting out the neck.

[Victor_Hong]

I have double magnum of LLC 1994 and a magnum of Pride 1997 in my kitchen refrigerator, as reminder not to buy such again.

[Robert.A.Jr]

Not long ago, I bought a 3L, had a party, then turned the bottle into a table lamp. Looks nice.
What would I do with 27L bottle? Turn it into a sauna?

It would make an exquisite bong.

Ha!

I’d be mortified to end up with a corked wine. 3L is as big as I’ve gone, and never on uber-premium wines.

[AndrewH]

Not long ago, I bought a 3L, had a party, then turned the bottle into a table lamp. Looks nice.
What would I do with 27L bottle? Turn it into a sauna?

Floor lamp.

[Dale_McClaran]

Wussies — The Gilded Sage would have no such issues with the larger formats as you can see below:

1949 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut (France, Champagne) 12/6/2014 The Gilded Sage
Served from Melchizedek (30L).

I have long been of the opinion that Monsieur Roederer’s tête de cuvée shows best when tasted from larger formats, and so was pleased recently to find occasion to open one of the manor’s Melchizedeks of '49.

On the saint day feast of Tsar Nicolas II, Ashton Manor was graced with the presence of a dozen distinguished guests, among them the late sovereign’s daughter, Anastasia. In honor of the lost princess, I ordered the bathing pools be drained and refilled with the finest beluga caviar of the Caspian and Black Seas. Live sturgeon swam in tanks suspended from the ceilings. An ice sculpture of the Winter Palace, carved from a piece of Siberian glacier, stood twelve feet high on the lawn, raw black pearls scattered like stones at its base. Nude women and eunuchs roamed the grounds atop Arabian steeds (a feature of particular delight to the princess, who amused the party with references to another, earlier, ancestor’s fatal passion for horses).

The wine was sabred with a sidearm dating to the Napoleonic Wars, a gift made by the late tsar in 1909 to a previous Lord of this manor. Four eunuchs were required to lift the bottle for service, but in due course its weight was disbursed into glasses. There, we discovered a nectar of transcendent elegance and considerable verve. Warm aromas of baked rye and fraise des bois preceded a palate soft as haremic silks, sweet as a maiden’s bathwater, and an incisive, saline finish like tears shed in ecstasy. One thought of Count Tolstoy’s doomed heroine, leaning forward in her symphony box to catch a stolen glimpse of her beloved; or of Natasha, her young breast heaving in anticipation of a Petersburg ball.

I should have liked to taste the wine again on the second day, in order to gauge its potential for further aging, but, alas, the twelve of us managed to consume all thirty litres (not including the several glasses poured out in honor of the departed sovereign). After dinner, we swam in what remained of the caviar, and later dreamt of its beaded caress.

In sum, the 1949 is a Cristal of supreme pedigree and admirable finesse. The lost princess remarked upon its stylistic resemblance to the cuvée’s inaugural vintage—1876—the last bottles of which were destroyed, tragically, by the Red Army. It is our good fortune that, like the tsarevna herself, this more modern masterpiece survives for our enjoyment. На здоровье!

[Anton_D]

Do champagnes in bottle above 3 liters require reduced pressure?

Can people discern a drop in 'bubbliness" from those larger bottles?

[David_Cohen]

love me some large format bottles. Have been opening them for over 30 years. When I was 29 i convinced a local steak house to allow me to bring in one bottle of wine for a private party I was having with about 20 people. Snuck in a 9L.
When I turned 40 I opened a 3 and a 6l. Have a handful of huge bottles of vintage ports from 2011 (partly thanks to Julian for persuading the change in large format bottling of VP)
Enjoy being able to serve same wine to all my guests. Open a 3l or larger every year.

[Mark_Golodetz]

Wussies — The Gilded Sage would have no such issues with the larger formats as you can see below:

1949 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut (France, Champagne) 12/6/2014 The Gilded Sage
Served from Melchizedek (30L).

I have long been of the opinion that Monsieur Roederer’s tête de cuvée shows best when tasted from larger formats, and so was pleased recently to find occasion to open one of the manor’s Melchizedeks of '49.

On the saint day feast of Tsar Nicolas II, Ashton Manor was graced with the presence of a dozen distinguished guests, among them the late sovereign’s daughter, Anastasia. In honor of the lost princess, I ordered the bathing pools be drained and refilled with the finest beluga caviar of the Caspian and Black Seas. Live sturgeon swam in tanks suspended from the ceilings. An ice sculpture of the Winter Palace, carved from a piece of Siberian glacier, stood twelve feet high on the lawn, raw black pearls scattered like stones at its base. Nude women and eunuchs roamed the grounds atop Arabian steeds (a feature of particular delight to the princess, who amused the party with references to another, earlier, ancestor’s fatal passion for horses).

The wine was sabred with a sidearm dating to the Napoleonic Wars, a gift made by the late tsar in 1909 to a previous Lord of this manor. Four eunuchs were required to lift the bottle for service, but in due course its weight was disbursed into glasses. There, we discovered a nectar of transcendent elegance and considerable verve. Warm aromas of baked rye and fraise des bois preceded a palate soft as haremic silks, sweet as a maiden’s bathwater, and an incisive, saline finish like tears shed in ecstasy. One thought of Count Tolstoy’s doomed heroine, leaning forward in her symphony box to catch a stolen glimpse of her beloved; or of Natasha, her young breast heaving in anticipation of a Petersburg ball.

I should have liked to taste the wine again on the second day, in order to gauge its potential for further aging, but, alas, the twelve of us managed to consume all thirty litres (not including the several glasses poured out in honor of the departed sovereign). After dinner, we swam in what remained of the caviar, and later dreamt of its beaded caress.

In sum, the 1949 is a Cristal of supreme pedigree and admirable finesse. The lost princess remarked upon its stylistic resemblance to the cuvée’s inaugural vintage—1876—the last bottles of which were destroyed, tragically, by the Red Army. It is our good fortune that, like the tsarevna herself, this more modern masterpiece survives for our enjoyment. На здоровье!

Last time I swam in caviar, I had to leave the festivities to remove eggs from various unmentionable parts of my anatomy. I have since drawn the line- no more caviar baths.

[AndrewH]

love me some large format bottles. Have been opening them for over 30 years. When I was 29 i convinced a local steak house to allow me to bring in one bottle of wine for a private party I was having with about 20 people. Snuck in a 9L.
When I turned 40 I opened a 3 and a 6l. Have a handful of huge bottles of vintage ports from 2011 (partly thanks to Julian for persuading the change in large format bottling of VP)
Enjoy being able to serve same wine to all my guests. Open a 3l or larger every year.

Love this - “just want to confirm the corkage on one bottle is $25”

[Dale_McClaran]

Wussies — The Gilded Sage would have no such issues with the larger formats as you can see below:

1949 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut (France, Champagne) 12/6/2014 The Gilded Sage
Served from Melchizedek (30L).

I have long been of the opinion that Monsieur Roederer’s tête de cuvée shows best when tasted from larger formats, and so was pleased recently to find occasion to open one of the manor’s Melchizedeks of '49.

On the saint day feast of Tsar Nicolas II, Ashton Manor was graced with the presence of a dozen distinguished guests, among them the late sovereign’s daughter, Anastasia. In honor of the lost princess, I ordered the bathing pools be drained and refilled with the finest beluga caviar of the Caspian and Black Seas. Live sturgeon swam in tanks suspended from the ceilings. An ice sculpture of the Winter Palace, carved from a piece of Siberian glacier, stood twelve feet high on the lawn, raw black pearls scattered like stones at its base. Nude women and eunuchs roamed the grounds atop Arabian steeds (a feature of particular delight to the princess, who amused the party with references to another, earlier, ancestor’s fatal passion for horses).

The wine was sabred with a sidearm dating to the Napoleonic Wars, a gift made by the late tsar in 1909 to a previous Lord of this manor. Four eunuchs were required to lift the bottle for service, but in due course its weight was disbursed into glasses. There, we discovered a nectar of transcendent elegance and considerable verve. Warm aromas of baked rye and fraise des bois preceded a palate soft as haremic silks, sweet as a maiden’s bathwater, and an incisive, saline finish like tears shed in ecstasy. One thought of Count Tolstoy’s doomed heroine, leaning forward in her symphony box to catch a stolen glimpse of her beloved; or of Natasha, her young breast heaving in anticipation of a Petersburg ball.

I should have liked to taste the wine again on the second day, in order to gauge its potential for further aging, but, alas, the twelve of us managed to consume all thirty litres (not including the several glasses poured out in honor of the departed sovereign). After dinner, we swam in what remained of the caviar, and later dreamt of its beaded caress.

In sum, the 1949 is a Cristal of supreme pedigree and admirable finesse. The lost princess remarked upon its stylistic resemblance to the cuvée’s inaugural vintage—1876—the last bottles of which were destroyed, tragically, by the Red Army. It is our good fortune that, like the tsarevna herself, this more modern masterpiece survives for our enjoyment. На здоровье!

Last time I swam in caviar, I had to leave the festivities to remove eggs from various unmentionable parts of my anatomy. I have since drawn the line- no more caviar baths.

.
*

I can only hope the youngsters are paying heed to this sage advice should they be pressed into similar circumstances

His note on the 95 Screagle could well be the funniest 5 or 6 sentences I have ever read in my life. Comedic perfection.

[Rich_Brown]

Wussies — The Gilded Sage would have no such issues with the larger formats as you can see below:

1949 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut (France, Champagne) 12/6/2014 The Gilded Sage
Served from Melchizedek (30L).

I have long been of the opinion that Monsieur Roederer’s tête de cuvée shows best when tasted from larger formats, and so was pleased recently to find occasion to open one of the manor’s Melchizedeks of '49.

On the saint day feast of Tsar Nicolas II, Ashton Manor was graced with the presence of a dozen distinguished guests, among them the late sovereign’s daughter, Anastasia. In honor of the lost princess, I ordered the bathing pools be drained and refilled with the finest beluga caviar of the Caspian and Black Seas. Live sturgeon swam in tanks suspended from the ceilings. An ice sculpture of the Winter Palace, carved from a piece of Siberian glacier, stood twelve feet high on the lawn, raw black pearls scattered like stones at its base. Nude women and eunuchs roamed the grounds atop Arabian steeds (a feature of particular delight to the princess, who amused the party with references to another, earlier, ancestor’s fatal passion for horses).

The wine was sabred with a sidearm dating to the Napoleonic Wars, a gift made by the late tsar in 1909 to a previous Lord of this manor. Four eunuchs were required to lift the bottle for service, but in due course its weight was disbursed into glasses. There, we discovered a nectar of transcendent elegance and considerable verve. Warm aromas of baked rye and fraise des bois preceded a palate soft as haremic silks, sweet as a maiden’s bathwater, and an incisive, saline finish like tears shed in ecstasy. One thought of Count Tolstoy’s doomed heroine, leaning forward in her symphony box to catch a stolen glimpse of her beloved; or of Natasha, her young breast heaving in anticipation of a Petersburg ball.

I should have liked to taste the wine again on the second day, in order to gauge its potential for further aging, but, alas, the twelve of us managed to consume all thirty litres (not including the several glasses poured out in honor of the departed sovereign). After dinner, we swam in what remained of the caviar, and later dreamt of its beaded caress.

In sum, the 1949 is a Cristal of supreme pedigree and admirable finesse. The lost princess remarked upon its stylistic resemblance to the cuvée’s inaugural vintage—1876—the last bottles of which were destroyed, tragically, by the Red Army. It is our good fortune that, like the tsarevna herself, this more modern masterpiece survives for our enjoyment. На здоровье!

Last time I swam in caviar, I had to leave the festivities to remove eggs from various unmentionable parts of my anatomy. I have since drawn the line- no more caviar baths.

.
*

I can only hope the youngsters are paying heed to this sage advice should they be pressed into similar circumstances

His note on the 95 Screagle could well be the funniest 5 or 6 sentences I have ever read in my life. Comedic perfection.

Easily the best notes on CT…and it’s not even close

[BillKniep]

I somehow ended up with an 18L of Renaissance Cabernet that was used as a hat stand in my front hall for many years. Eventually the cork dried and fell into the bottle.

[J_a_y_H_a_c_k]

This is the equivalent of around 3 cases.

Who would buy this? A guy who needs to prove the size of his equipment, or someone planning a Berserkerfest.
How do you know when to open it? At a Berserkerfest.
How do you deal with the shock and horror if it is corked? Drink the wine that other people brought.

Final question: what is the largest bottle you have opened and/or the largest bottle you have drunk from. [A 12 liter that Leo brought to Berserkerfest 2.5 Day 1. IIRC, it was a Taittinger NV. I had to open it because Leo didn’t have the grip strength. It lasted two days. There is a photo of Jorge’s young daughter next to the bottle - they were the same height but the bottle was fatter. There is also a photo of me holding the neck with one hand and tipping it back to drink the last bit at the bottom. I think I had to rest it on my shoulder to be able to lift it and steady it. I do not have a copy of either photo. ]

[LoriMcLaughlin]

I have a number of 3Ls and 5Ls in the cellar. One of those will usually make a dent in a family get together

[John_Glas]

Does it come with a mini crane to help pour it! How many body builders would you need to help pour this bottle?

[CCoulson]

Was a nice lunch with good friends.

[Andrew_Dodd]

A handful, but they are can be hard to pour. 6L of Billecart, 6L of Chapoutier Hermitage, 5L etched Ken Wright Shea and a bunch of 3L bottles (etched Cayuse Cailloux, etched Cayuse Camaspelo), Bodegas AALTO, Viett Perbacco, Perrier Jouet etc etc…

They are fun for parties when those exist again