All Champagne Bottle Sizes - Make Sure You Never Run Out!

Elegant and sparkling, Champagne is synonymous with sharing and conviviality, as well as refinement. A festive wine par excellence, Champagne can be served at the table on a variety of occasions, from weddings and birthdays to business functions and get-togethers with friends. Champagne is the only bottle to come in different sizes, from the most practical to the most festive, depending on the occasion.

One of the smallest bottles of Champagne, the quarter bottle contains 200ml or 1 flute of Champagne.

Also known as a "fillette" in French, the half-bottle contains 375ml of Champagne and fills 3 flutes.

The medium bottle contains 500ml or 5 flutes of Champagne.

The classic 750ml bottle fills 6 flutes.

This format contains 1.5 litres of Champagne and serves 12 flutes.

With a capacity of 3 litres, this large bottle can fill 24 flutes.

This 4.5-litre Champagne format contains 6 bottles of classic Champagne or 36 flutes.

Containing the equivalent of 8 bottles of Champagne, or 6 litres, the Methuselah can fill 48 flutes.

The Salmanazar has a capacity of 9 litres, the equivalent of 12 traditional bottles. With this format, it is possible to fill 72 flutes.

The Balthazar, a very large bottle weighing 25.4 kg, contains 12 litres of Champagne, the equivalent of 16 bottles. This format allows 96 flutes to be served.

The particularly impressive Nebuchadnezzar weighs in at 38.1 kg. Containing the equivalent of 20 classic bottles of Champagne (15 litres), it can serve 120 flutes.

Containing the equivalent of 24 750ml bottles of Champagne, or 18 litres, the Salomon can fill 144 flutes.

The Souverain has a capacity of 26.25 litres, or 35 bottles and 210 flutes of Champagne.

This 27-litre format of Champagne contains 36 bottles, or 216 flutes of Champagne.

The Melchisedek contains 30 litres, the equivalent of 40 bottles of Champagne. One bottle of Melchisedech can fill 240 flutes. It's best to have more than one guest to serve it!

The capacities of champagne bottles can vary from a few millilitres to several litres. A quarter is used mainly by airlines and shipping companies. The half accompanies moments of intimacy. The standard bottle format is the one that is more commonly found in cellars.

Champagne is best aged in large containers to achieve optimum maturation. Not only because the ageing potential is better than in smaller sizes, but also to optimise the development of the Champagne's aromas. The ratio between the volume of wine and the amount of oxygen is lower than in a standard 750ml bottle. In other words, Champagne ages more slowly to allow the aromas to develop. So magnums and Jeroboams of vintage Champagne promise the best possible tasting experience if the precious contents have been left to age in the cellar.

Another important point about these bottle sizes is serving temperature! And not the least, because the challenge with large bottles is to be able to chill the bottle to serve Champagne at the right temperature: 8 to 9°C. This is a detail you need to think about for special occasions: make room in the fridge and make sure you have a good-sized ice bucket and enough ice cubes.

Then, and this is no mean feat, you have to know how to serve the delicate flutes without spilling any! A large container weighs a lot and is bulky. Two people are usually needed to serve. The Melchisedec weighs 54 kg when full, so you might as well be strong!

Everyone remembers the biblical names associated with Champagne: Methuselah, Balthazar, Salmanazar, Jeroboam, so many bottles of Champagne with elephantine names to protect the ‘love potion’ that is Champagne. We've rarely seen these bottles with our own eyes, let alone tasted the beverage emerging from their enormous necks. The only thing we know for sure is that the names are both intriguing and amusing. The larger the bottle, the more extravagant the names.

With its 6-litre capacity, the Methuselah symbolises longevity. It takes its name from the oldest person in the Old Testament. Methuselah is said to have lived for 969 years. The Salmanazar holds 9 litres of Champagne, the equivalent of 12 bottles. This king of Assyria is famous for his battles against the Babylonians and the Aramaean kingdoms, which he was unable to overthrow. The Balthazar, with its 12 litres, is equivalent to 16 classic bottles. A tribute to the famous Magus King who perished when the city was taken by Cyrus II, founder of the Persian Empire. Then there's the 15-litre Nebuchadnezzar. This King of Babylon, who deported the inhabitants of Jerusalem when he took the city, is also famous for the architectural revival he brought to the Mesopotamian city. Needless to say, such a bottle is extremely rare. Recently, wine merchants have even designed larger bottles, such as the Solomon (24 bottles), the Sovereign (35 bottles), the Primate (36 bottles) and the Melchidezec (40 bottles).

Mysterious bottles that contribute to the myth of Champagne. The paradoxical association between the festive side of Champagne and the sometimes warlike names of the bottles is striking.

Whether it's a marketing stunt, anecdote or real significance, it seems that the veil is not about to fall. And that's the charm of Champagne bottles.