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'Show up to that dinner with a 3-litre of anything and you are Dionysus'

Decanter

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July 2025

While there are many ways to judge wine - depth, balance, structure, expression of terroir - the most important factor is bottle size.

- JOEL STEIN

'Show up to that dinner with a 3-litre of anything and you are Dionysus'

After all, ata dinner party, what's the ratio of people admiring your Henri Jayer to people annoyed by how you keep talking about Henri Jayer? Meanwhile, you show up toa dinner with a 3-litre of anything and you are Dionysus, delivering a wine that they cannot imagine how you procured. You know that sad feeling ata restaurant when they puta single candle ina regular-sized dessert for someone’s birthday? That’s what your 75cl is like.

A giant-ass bottle of wine signals abundance. It screams ‘party’. When Jesus turned water into wine for that wedding, do you think it was one bottle? He abracadabra'ed more than 120 gallons of wine. Even if all of Cana was invited to that wedding, that’s about a quart of wine per Galilean. If Jesus came back to that party with a glass and a half, we'd all still be Jews.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA Decanter

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Beyond Champagne

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Representing a not-insignificant 20% of total production in 2024, white Port is one of the most exciting and rapidly evolving Port styles. Pop a bottle in the fridge, and enjoy it for up to two weeks or so after opening

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SWEET TREATS

A classic component of Christmas dinner, sweet wines can be rather confusing, with so many styles available. You're sure to find the perfect drop among these 20 examples

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A large single-owner collection spanning vaunted wine world creations has been sold in the US, amid a busy auction scene.

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'I wandered towards the cobalt Adriatic inlet next to the vineyards and looked back

Everyone knows her as Bepa, though Josipa Marinov is her name: white hair, scrawny, nimble, energetic.

time to read

3 mins

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And so it was... a snapshot of wine news in 2025

From new joint ventures to the rise of 'no-low' and continuing climatic challenges in the vineyards, we round up some of the key wine news stories from an eventful 2025.

time to read

2 mins

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The more the person knows about wine, the more obscure your gift needs to be

A gift has many purposes, the least important of which is the recipient.

time to read

3 mins

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Festive treats up to £60

Wanting to treat your guests, and yourself, to something a little extra-special on the festive table this year? As a companion selection to our 34 wines under £30, the Decanter team has selected 16 standout bottles certain to impress, and all available in the UK priced between £30 and £60

time to read

3 mins

December 2025

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Southern hemisphere Cabernet Franc

Single-vineyard wines from a grape whose time has clearly arrived. The large proportion of high scores here revealed great quality across an impressive breadth of styles

time to read

6 mins

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May-Eliane de Lencquesaing at 100

In 1978, in a notary's office in Bordeaux, May-Eliane de Lencquesaing's life changed dramatically. Drawing lots with her siblings for their father's estate, she inherited Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in Pauillac. It began a five-decade journey in wine that none could have predicted, one that carries on today with her South African estate, Glenelly

time to read

6 mins

December 2025

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