In response to Mark’s post on the bumps near the stem, I checked by 1855 and there are none there (or my fingers are too clunky to detect them…)
A pox on this thread for costing me WB money when I haven’t even tried the glass.
To further Mark’s QC point above
- We have tight tolerances on our weights.
- We are a ‘no bubble’ glass even if the bubble is in the stem or the base
- His ‘knot’ of glass would be a replacement by us
Mark…it won’t cost you much to have a great glass. Check back on WB days… 
Finished the Sociando out of the 1855 and Cru, time to try the Liberte and the Mineralite!
These are both elegant stems. Exceedingly light in the hand, again, quite elegant. Went with these stems for a 2009 Copain Syrah Hawks Butte, thinking that the new-style Copain with its higher acid may work better in these stems. I will try the 1855 and Cru again tomorrow with this wine.
The Mineralite is too tight for me. The mouth - and how do I say this correctly - is too small for my rather accentuated (though exceedingly handsome) facial features, in particular, the nose. The architecture of the glass with its narrow chute yields a very concentrated, focused nose, but the more diffused nose of the Liberte expressed the aromatics of the wine better. I suspect that the Mineralite may be better for champagne. My wife found the mouth too narrow as well. The Liberte is a pretty, tulip shaped bowl. I like this glass. I think it could be multi-purpose, whites and reds. The ergonomics work, from bowl to mouth, all in proportion. A winner.
PS. This Copain is fantastic! Lovin the stemmy perfume.
I was told Alfert wins majority of his sprints…by a nose!
That cuban proboscis is a force to be reckoned with!
wish we could have tried it out.
Day late and a dollar short! They arrived Friday! Would have been fun, and you wouldn’t have been complaining like the rich LA swinger you are!
Drinking a 2009 Leviathan from the 1855. Solid Glass Chris. Wide base, large bowl which allows for wonderful aromatics from the glass. The stem feels a great deal thicker than GGG and Zalto. I am usually a Universal or GGG user, so this is obviously a far different feel and size, but it’s a very nice change. I’d like to try the Cru and do a true comparison to the Universal and GGG as it’s almost an unfair comparison, but I really think its a job well done and appreciate the offer!
drinking 2014 Chablisienne Mont de Milieu Chablis out of Gabriel Gold, Grassl Mineralité, and Grassl Cru. The opening of Mineralité won’t accommodate my proboscis and makes it hard to drink out of. Nose not as intense. Cru is a super glass, wide bottom so the aromas really fire out of the increased surface area, feels more substantial a glass though light and well-balanced. GGG shows the wine to advantage also, similar size opening, a size I like in those latter two glasses. I like Cru a lot and will try reds out of it soon. Mineralité may be a good champagne glass, will try it. Tonight, though, Cru wins.
From Grassl Cru. Will cross post to the Grassl thread.
First, the glassware. The Cru both helped the wine open up better (with about an hour of airtime in the glass) but also helped concentrate the nose. The hand feel is very nice and comfortable. I still think this feels heavier and more substantial than the Zalto, regardless of what the actual weight is.
The wine has a beautiful bouquet that has a bit of savigny bramble with some pure currants and blackberries. It is a bit on the rustic side and not the most elegant. It’s quite powerful with good intensity and length. I think a few years would probably help this one, though. At $40, nice deal.
drinking a 2014 Marsannay from Audoin. Cru vs Mineralité. Cru wins again. Much more expressive and open in Cru. No contest.
I was just getting ready to restock my GGG and machine GG, but will stand down for a bit and observe.
For those of you who have tested these glasses, how are you cleaning them? Do they fit and do well in the dishwasher? This is always my issue, as I have broken too many Zalto/GG stems hand washing, and my dishwasher top rack doesn’t have space for the taller glasses (Zalto). I really love drinking out of the GG’s and need to buy more on BD, so I am following this thread.
Enjoyed test driving the Liberte. Compared to Gabriel Gold, the '14 Pepiere Gorges was even more focused and mineral in the Liberte. I confess I couldn’t really notice any difference with an '11 Drouhin Morgon.
I liked the way it feels, though aesthetically the wide base looks odd to me, but probably will get used to it. Nice glass.
Cleaning in the dishwasher with no problems so far. Our dishwasher allows us to lower the top rack, which allows the stems to fit better. At “normal” height we had to insert the stems on a slight angle.
tried a 16 keller muscheligen kalk and 13 knoll smaragd riesling in the liberte vs gabriel gold. for my preference, there is no comparison to the light in hand feeling and elegance of the gabriel gold. the wines showed pretty similarly from both glasses, however the gabriel always smelled more floral for some reason. i would say if you want a zalto replacement, then hands down i would go with the liberte, but it is not quite as refined as the gabriel gold. of course depending on what the price point is, i am sure it represents a great value. also it seems to be clearly more sturdy than the gabriel so it really depends on your priorities.
Sherri, I hand wash my glasses and dry them with a micro fiber.
Tried the 1855 with a Zin, 2013 Carlisle Hayne. Loved how the wine showed in the glass.
Also tried a 2000 Malartic-Lagraviere, but this wine showed better from the smaller GGG. Somehow this wine drowned in the larger glass. Wine itself was only ok and developed a bitter edge after a being open for 2-3 hrs.
Tonight was my initial test drive of the mineralité. The test subject was the 2012 von Winning Kalkofen Grosses Gewachs. Right off the bat, the Grassl Glass made a fantastic impression with how it accentuated the aromatic of the wine. I had a separate pour in a Schott-Zweisel glass, and the aromatics were almost non-existent in comparison to the Grassl.
Then to the drinking, and my one quibble with the Grassl. The opening was too small, making me feel a little like Steve Martin in the movie ‘Roxanne.’ Once I figured out how to navigate that, the drinking was excellent, though not so dramatically superior to the S-Z glass. I did feel as though the Grassl was pushing the wine towards my mid-palate, de-emphasizing fruit. For those who love an accentuated acidity that could be a positive. I again adjusted my drinking angle to get some additional front palate fruit. Overall I think the issue could be adjusted by making the glass just a little larger. Keep the proportions the same though, as the aromatic impression is too fine to ignore.
I love smelling a good wine, potentially even more than I like drinking it, so despite my concerns regarding the size of the opening, I really like the glass.
bowl is well-attached to stem so it won’t break there—unlike Riedel. As long as you are sober, hand wash is no problem. I hand washed first night, dishwasher second. No problem w/either.