Mas des Bressades Tradition rouge now in magnum bottles

Double helpings from Mas des Bressades

The arrival of a delivery from Mas des Bressades, just east of Nîmes at the very south of the Rhône valley region, is always good news, but this time the consignment included extra excitement in the shape of two new lines we've added to our range of Cyril Marès's astonishingly consistent and very drinkable Costières de Nîmes wines. One is his old vine Grenache, called Quintessence, whose grapes are trodden by foot in the time-honoured method, and the other is a favourite of long standing, his cuvée Tradition rouge—but this time in a double helping: a 1500ml magnum bottle. You can see the whopper in question below, just after being snatched from its carton in our Marina warehouse. We were encouraged to give these big bottles a go following the success of magnums from Château Jouclary. They're not too big to manage for pouring, or too ostentatious on the table—just a solidly imposing choice when there are enough guests to justify a bit of a statement.