One of the great joys of wine auctions is the chance for wine lovers to stumble upon bottles that are otherwise impossible to find. In most regions, winemakers bottle almost their entire harvest in standard 750ml formats. A small share may be set aside for magnums, already a rarity in itself. As for the even more generous formats, special requests excluded, they are produced by only a handful of estates. Champagne, Bordeaux, and the Rhône Valley are the main producers of these coveted giants. Last month, iDealwine auctions offered collectors a golden opportunity to secure not just magnums, but also double-magnums (known as Jeroboams in certain regions), Imperials (also called Methuselahs), and even a few Salmanazars (equivalent to an astonishing twelve bottles, or nine litres of wine!). Here’s a round-up of these gigantic bottle sales.
Magnums: Consistently coveted safe bets
No fewer than 973 large-format bottles (in excess of 750ml) were snapped up at auction on iDealwine in August. In other words, there was a remarkably broad selection of beautifully preserved wines in generous oversized formats, sure to make an impression at the table. Among them, magnums (the most commonly produced large size) made up the bulk of the contingent, with 763 bottles. Bordeaux dominated with an impressive 329 magnum-sized bottles sold (43%), while Burgundy held its own, with an impressive 100 lots, an outstanding performance for this region! At the very top of the leaderboard, a 2018 Pouilly-Fuissé Clos des Petits Croux from Domaine Jean-Marie Guffens stole the show, being bought for €1,878 by a Taiwanese collector. Interestingly, Chardonnay wines dominated the podium for the highest bids on Burgundy magnums, with the trio also including a 2018 Chablis G.C. Le Clos from Raveneau (€1,502), acquired by an Italian buyer, and a 2013 Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet from Leflaive heading to Hong Kong (€1,440). Among the Pinot Noir bottles, a 1990 Chambolle-Musigny Les Amoureuses from Domaine de Vogüé stood out, going under the hammer for €1,377.
Bordeaux, however, held its ground. No fewer than eight magnums broke the €1,000 mark (compared with seven for Burgundy), led by the benchmark 2015 Château Margaux, which was acquired for €1,815 by a French enthusiast. Alongside the Médoc first growths (Haut-Brion, Lafite), two Pomerols shone brightly: a 1982 Château Trotanoy (€1,252) and a 2014 Château Lafleur (€1,064).
Elsewhere, Jura wine prices remained stable, even declining slightly in August. This was the case for the 2008 Les Vignes de Mon Père from Ganevat, with a magnum selling for €1,202. The same trend was observed for bottles from Domaine des Murmures. The Rhône Valley performed better, with a magnum of 2016 Cornas Reynard from Thierry Allemand achieving €626 (+9%).
International highlights also punctuated the summer auctions. From Italy, a 2009 Barolo Brunate Le Coste from Giuseppe Rinaldi fetched €689, while Roberto Voerzio’s 2006 Barolo Sarmassa achieved €376. From across the Pond, from Napa Valley to be precise, a bottle of Cask 23 from Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars was snapped up by a Portuguese buyer for €507.
Bordeaux: Where bigger bottles bring bigger rewards
Bordeaux is unquestionably a leading region when it comes to producing oversized bottles. Last month on iDealwine, catalogues featured 7 Salmanazars (9L), 23 Imperials (6L), five Jeroboams (capacity varying by region, typically 5L in Bordeaux). An already impressive line-up, further extended by more than 70 double-magnums. In other words, clear proof that large formats continue to thrive at auction.
Unsurprisingly, Bordeaux accounted for nearly all of the most highly valued bids, with just one outsider breaking through: a 1990 Hermitage La Chapelle from Maison Jaboulet, which sold for €2,629 in double-magnum form.
With the exception of Sauternes fine wines, slower to appreciate in value, and less in demand during the summer months, almost every large-format Bordeaux exceeded the price relative to its 750ml equivalent. This trend is worth noting, given that Bordeaux grand crus have seen largely stable pricing for many months now. Of course, the trend comes as no surprise as these results highlight the advantages of wines aged in larger vessels, where they develop more gracefully than in standard-size bottles. They also confirm how wise it can be to request wines in large formats at the En Primeur purchase stage. Not only for the enhanced drinking experience, but also for the long-term value they hold.
The large formats up for auction on iDealwine
| Top 5 Salmanazar hammer prices | Hammer price | iDealwine price estimate for the format | % |
| 1 Salmanazar of 2016 Château Pavie (14/08/2025) | €3,881 | €3,972 | -2% |
| 1 Salmanazar of 2015 Château Angélus (14/08/2025) | €3,631 | €3,600 | 1% |
| 1 Salmanazar of 2017 Château Pontet Canet (14/08/2025) | €1,214 | €972 | 25% |
| 1 Salmanazar of 2016 Domaine de Chevalier (14/08/2025) | €964 | €612 | 58% |
| 1 Salmanazar of 2016 Château Poujeaux (14/08/2025) | €476 | €324 | 47% |
| Top 5 Imperial hammer prices | Hammer price | iDealwine price estimate for the format | % |
| 1 Imperial of 2015 L’Extravagant de Doisy Daëne (28/08/2025) | €2,629 | €2,704 | -3% |
| 1 Imperial of 1982 Château d’Yquem (14/08/2025) | €2,504 | €2,744 | -9% |
| 1 Imperial of 2017 Château Palmer (28/08/2025) | €2,254 | €1,848 | 22% |
| 1 Imperial of 2017 Cos d’Estournel (28/08/2025) | €1,252 | €1,000 | 25% |
| 1 Imperial of 2017 Château Ducru Beaucaillou (28/08/2025) | €1,164 | €1,000 | 16% |
| Top 4 Jeroboam hammer prices | Hammer price | iDealwine price estimate for the format | % |
| 1 Jeroboam of 2000 Château Lynch Bages (28/08/2025) | €1,628 | €1,253 | 30% |
| 1 Jeroboam of 1996 Pichon Longueville Baron (28/08/2025) | €1,377 | €1,213 | 13% |
| 1 Jeroboam of 1999 Château Lynch Bages (28/08/2025) | €901 | €753 | 20% |
| 1 Jeroboam of 2006 Château Brane Cantenac (28/08/2025) | €438 | €413 | 6% |
| 1 Rehoboam of 1975 Château Beychevelle (07/08/2025) | €639 | €426 | 50% |
| Top 5 double-magnum hammer prices | Hammer price | iDealwine price estimate for the format | % |
| 1 double magnum of 1990 Hermitage La Chapelle from Jaboulet (21/08/2025) | €2,629 | €1,980 | 33% |
| 1 double magnum of 2015 Château La Mission Haut-Brion (28/08/2025) | €2,379 | €1,252 | 90% |
| 1 double magnum of 2015 L’Extravagant de Doisy Daëne (28/08/2025) | €1,252 | €1,352 | -7% |
| 1 double magnum of 1985 Château Lynch Bages (28/08/2025) | €1,189 | €452 | 163% |
| 1 double magnum of 2010 Château Lynch Bages (28/08/2025) | €826 | €600 | 38% |
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