Grassl Glass reviews/evals [merged]

We might as well get our reviews going. My glass arrived today. Was a bit surprised at the glass I received but far from unhappy as Cab/Bdx happens to be my fav wine when it delivers.
Tonight it was tested on a 2013 Lone Madrone, Old Vine, Grenache from Paso. Later I’ll test the glass on some 2000 Bdx and a 2011 McD.
Compared to Gabriel Gold as shown way below.
The GG glass on the left, 1855 on the right.

There was quite a difference in aromatics and taste. The 1855 showed more fruit on the nose and a broader palate. The GG by comparison gave spicier aromas and a more linear palate. And I am a GG fan. That said, when I got down to under 1oz in the glass the aromas on 1855 got more diffuse or diluted than the GG, but the palate on the 1855 was still better.
My GG are 85mg with the 1855 being 104mg on the same scale. The 1855 feels quite a bit sturdier.


Would definitely want to try the Cru and Liberté from Grassl to see what they have to offer as I need better Rhône and Burgundy/PN glasses.
For now I’ve found GG to be best with Champagne and Armagnac. It is also an very good universal glass but not always the best for individual wines. Tonight’s wine being a case in point. [cheers.gif]
60FFFA42-CDFB-48D7-A790-CB266C61BB19.jpeg

Was lucky to receive a glass from Chris (grasslglass.com). Unfortunately, my glass did not survive the transport. It broke at the stem. I notice that the stem is 5mm, which I believe is more than usual 4mm of Zalto stems.

I found the glasses to be packed VERY well – almost overkill, tbh.

Was testing out the Liberte and the Mineralite last night with a bottle of Christophe Mignon Champagne Brut Nature. I LOVED the Mineralite. The nose was very focused and the acidity seemed quite concentrated. I thought the Liberte showed more expansive flavors. Liked the fact that the base is a bit bigger too, as it feels quite sturdy, while still remaining light/elegant. Blew away my Schott Zwiesels.

Note: Chris is a friend, but he lives 45m away and I never see him, so he can’t be that good of a friend.

Steve,
I’ll work on another one. Sorry. Our normal packaging is in transit. Which did you get?

Corey, thanks for the review. And not sure I could reliably pick you out in a crowd so we agree “friend” is a stretch. :slight_smile:

Thank you Peter!

We received a liberte for evaluation (thanks Chris!) and the packing was fine. (At least I think it was the liberte; it didn’t say in the packaging anywhere.)

Our first trial was Alessandria Pelaverga 2016 side by side with a Gabriel Glas gold. These glasses are very similar; Chris’ has a smaller mouth, thicker stem, and wider base but otherwise hard to tell apart from a distance.

Our thoughts on this first comparison experience are:

  • materials/manufacture quality is comparable
  • smaller mouth on liberte intensifies the nose of the wine but is less comfortable
  • liberte seemed more top heavy in the hand (we measured equal amounts of liquid in the two and tried different grip locations)

Overall, the Liberte seemed like a fine piece but we were more comfortable with the Gabriel Glas Gold that we have been using.

It was just a casual tryout and not a deep study. We’ll continue with the side-by-side trials and see how our impressions evolve.

Joe. What did the base of the glass say?

Thanks for the note!

Liberte (in large print!)

More glasses to buy??!! [swearing.gif] [shock.gif]

I received the Liberte.

The Grassl 1855 is a handsome glass. I initially thought it was the Zalto Bordeaux. Thanks for the comparison notes.

I have one each, there are 4 designs in the series. Here’s a picture of the cru and 1855 models at work.

A friend and I are drinking craft beer from the stems which I prefer to a clunky glass. It’s that or just the bottle. [berserker.gif]

I like it when the beers have some unique flavors. For example, tonight was a Belching Beaver Mango which has a very faint fruit note so the stem makes coaxing the aromas from the brew much easier.

The foot/base of the glass is designed for me, it’s wider. Probably for balance reasons but the slightly larger footprint makes a more stable platform because I’m notorious for setting my stems on the edge of a plate or on a fork or knocking it with my hand and this provides a much more solid foundation for the glass.

I’ll try them all with wine and try to give some context and comparison. These were a gift from Chris Freemott, a fellow wineberserker and the proud father of these hand blow glasses which he designed.

No sure the details on how to acquire them but he’s a Berserker business and the website is www.grasslglass.com


I received the Cru glass for testing. I compared it to the Zalto Burgundy stem and also to my favorite GGG. Bowl shape was generally similar to the Zalto but smaller - which I like, the Zalto Burgundy glass almost seems comically large every time I take it out. (GGG is my go-to glass for practically everything)

The Cru was slightly larger than the GGG, with a more rounded bottom. The rim of the glass was more tapered too, maybe a bit too much - seemed smaller than we’ve seen on other glasses. Would like to see it just a touch wider.

The stem itself felt slightly thicker, and the base is larger in both instances. To my hand the GGG felt a bit lighter/thinner/more graceful, but only by a tad - this felt sturdier (not really the right word, but you get the idea - certainly wasn’t clunky by any means).

I finished off the last of a bottle of 2008 Anderson Conn Valley Cabernet Reserve, and am ashamed to admit I didn’t think to pour a comparison taste in the other two glasses. Nor take a picture. What can I say, it was a stressful week and I needed a nice glass of wine. :slight_smile:

All in all, very good quality - depending on price would consider purchasing, especially to stockpile for use when we host a tasting event for wine people that need something better than the Kirkland Reidels we have sitting in the basement. But probably not the Cru - based on the other reviews, and the wines we drink, think the shape of the other stems would be a better fit.

Chris - thank you for sending the glass, looking forward to the offer on Berserker Day.

Just starting to review these. Thanks Chris for the opportunity through The Legend.
I am trying the Cru glass versus my Zalto Burgundy.

I like that it is smaller. It is lighter but the base and stem appear to be sturdier. The lip is very slightly thicker on this particular Cru glass.

As people have described the opening is smaller than the Zalto. The bowl is also smaller too.

Tonight a nice 2011 JF Mugnier Chambolle Musigny Fuees. Aromatic wine. There is a very small green note but lots of very bright berries and wonderfully lively.

Aromatics are better on the Zalto. Just deeper and broader presentation on the nose. I actually like the way the wine rolls out of the Cru glass better than the Zalto. The palate presentation is better. The Zalto spreads the wine out a lot but this is a small nit to pick. The detail of the palate is really the same with the two glasses.

I am going to sit here during the game and keep looking. These glasses are really nice quality.

Looking for some stems for doing tastings out in the barn, love my Zaltos at home but wanted something a little more affordable and a little sturdier, and these appear to be both, without sacrificing anything in the way of form. The shorter bases and slightly wider stems definitely make me feel a little safer, though.

I got a Liberte and an 1855 for testing. I first tried some of our Cab Franc in both, along with a Zalto BDX for reference. The narrower openings on the Grassl stems helped to focus the fruit somewhat, seeming more linear on the nose and palate. They also seemed to me to highlight the dusty granite in the background a little bit more than the Zalto. I also tried our Chard in the Liberte and had similar results, with a nice precision of fruit and a more pronounced mineral character.

Super happy with these, can’t wait to stock up.

I took the “1855” out of my thread title.

Taking it as a personal insult that mine hasn’t been delivered yet.

Kidding - looking forward to trying the 1855. Expecting this to make my berserker day even more damn expensive.

This guy knows how to take proper pictures

Got the Cru and compared to Riedel burg and Zalto burg.

Not good at writing reviews so will summarize bullet points.

  • light weight and well balanced. Bowl about same as Riedel size.
  • destroys riedels. Not even close. Better feel and more expressive
  • same base size as zalto but smaller bowl and thicker stem.
  • for me a zalto is clear winner. But it’s also $50 a stem. I don’t mind the price and will continue to go for zalto with burgs in a small party/small event.
    If there are large events I will consider Cru to be a feasible alternative (assuming it’s significantly cheaper which I believe to be the case).

Was hoping to try the Mineralte with sour beers as I want a GGG similar glass that’s cheaper. I find ggg uselessly small for red wine but absolutely perfect for beer. Still waiting for that glass to arrive :wink:

Nick R - USPS tracking shows me Monday for you. They are in your local distribution hub. Yes, know you’re busting chops up there but thought you’d like to know.