Ch. de Brague ’05 – 70 cl vs. Magnum!
What is it about a magnum? There is something very seductive about a magnum to me. Maybe it’s the pure heft of the bottle, the size of it (although I’m not a size queen) or maybe it’s just because it’s not something you see everyday. Whatever it is, my eyes light up whenever I come across a magnum. Magnums hold the equivalent of 2 bottles of wine and many think that the larger size allows the wine to mature not just slower but also differently. My plan was to compare a wine, bottled in a 70cl and in a magnum, and put those theories to the test.
Imagine my delight when I found the ’05 Ch. de Brague magnum on the shelves right before Christmas. I snapped it up and scurried home with my prize. Obviously more than two people are needed to down this baby so when my friend El invited me over for a dinner party at hers, I hauled over the magnum.
I stopped by Oddbins on the way over and picked up a regular 70cl size bottle for comparison, same wine, same vintage. Got to El’s, opened both wines, poured and then, disaster! The 70 cl was corked! So much for my taste comparison of magnums vs. 70cls.
Oh well, the Ch. de Brague is an ’05 Bordeaux superieur, primarily merlot with cabernet sauvignon and a dash of cabernet franc. The ’05 is a bit young but it had a lovely tannic structure, smooth and velvety with a black cherry fruit character and leather notes. Neil made mushroom risotto which was a great choice for this particular Bordeaux. I was disappointed that I couldn’t compare the two bottle sizes but there’s always next time.
70 cl – £7.99
Magnum – £15.99
You had this novel idea and what a disappointment it must have been! Good that the magnum wasn’t corked. Maybe you can find a pair next time with screw off caps.
A pair of screw offs, good idea but the best part of the tasting was that they were bordeaux. Not many bordeaux come in screwcaps. Guess I’ll just have to wait for another to come along.