I’m still trying to figure out which glass is best for the aromatics. I use Reidel Vinum Syrah for most of my everyday use, primarily as I tend to drink Rhones more than anything during the week. These are ok with Bdx as well. I broke out the Sommeliers Burgundy Grand Cru last night for a 2009 Brun Terres Dorees Fleurie, an otherwise wonderfully aromatic gamay. I found the nose to be highly diffuse in that glass. I could coax very little focus from it. I poured another glass into a simple Vinum, and the difference was dramatic. Much more focused, intense nose, allowing me to delineate the fruit, earth and meat characteristics.
In Beaujolais, I’ve been given tumblers, small tiny glasses that may have cost 50 cents, Lenox, Speigelau Bordeaux glasses, “Port” glasses, and non-descript general wine glasses. All of them seemed to work pretty well at conveying wine, although the tiny ones weren’t particularly great for smelling the wine - OK once they were emptied tho, which is a great way to smell it btw.
Of course, since the terroir of the place varies to the degree the glass matters, there would have to be multiple glasses. My suggestion is just keep trying until you find a glass you like and stick with that.
However, you already knew that, so FWIW, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t spend 2 seconds thinking about a glass, I usually end up using a Speigelau Vino Grand. Usually that’s because I have a lot of them and it’s the first glass on the shelf, but it’s a pretty good glass for getting aromatics for a wide variety of wines.
I used to use these glasses much more but have had mixed results. Let me preface this with saying that I think the whole “what glassware with what wine…” decision is way over analyzed. But with the sommelier burgundy glass, it seems to magnify flaws, especially for wines where alcohol might be an issue, and diffuses aromatics for more reserved, subtle styles. They’re gorgeous and fun to use though, no matter what the grape!
He was surely off the deep end when he brought out the Somellier Water glass. But I would not want to bet against him going even deeper by bringing out one for Evian, another for Fiji, etc.
I use a Burg / Pinot glass, but can’t say that I’ve experimented much. Is it possible that the difference you noted with the second type of glass was due to the additional aeration from pouring from one glass to the other?
I actually poured the second glass straight from the bottle and consumed the wine side-by-side. Now mind you - obviously some sarcastic quips above (in good fun I’m sure) - I’m no wine glass geek at all, but there was a dramatic difference.
Robert - then use the one that seems to be best for you. And I’m telling you as a friend now, but don’t do the experiment with water -
He was surely off the deep end when he brought out the Somellier Water glass. But I would not want to bet against him going even deeper by bringing out one for Evian, another for Fiji, etc.
Ok, makes sense. I don’t know where I got the idea that you had poured from one glass to the other. Maybe the caffeine hadn’t kicked in yet yesterday morning. Anyway, that’s intriguing that it made a difference. I’ve always been a little dubious about whether the type of glass really mattered much, but doing some side by side tasting might be interesting.
