first go with the new Grassls...

Wife away at a girls weekend, kids ensconced in front of a Star Wars movie, six new Grassl 1855s having just arrived (shout out to Chris Freemott!), had a few guys over for dinner and some terrific (single-blinded) wines.

With truffled mushroom risotto a 2009 Rapet Corton Charlemagne and a 1996 Perrot-Minot Charmes Chambertin VV. I thought the Rapet would work with the richness of the dish, and the burg with the mushrooms. Home run on both! I have had this Rapet before, and it has been consistently delicious. This one was perhaps not as flamboyant as previous renditions, but nonetheless still making clear that we are in Grand Cru territory. A wonderful combination of power and elegance, especially considering the vintage. Tremendous length. 92

The red burg was ethereal. Seriously. One relative newbie friend at the table summed it up well: “Oh, so this is what all the fuss is about.” Pretty much exactly how I felt. Surprisingly dark color. The perfume was intoxicating – not exactly sensual, but certainly hedonistic. I got more floral, soy, orange rind and black tea. In the mouth the soft tannins just lazily linger. The wine is maybe midlife and not even close to “fully mature”. So this, I thought to myself, is why people spend crazy $ on GC burg. If only this were the rule rather than the exception. :frowning: 95

With grilled rib eyes a 1989 Calon Segur. I love CS but I think this was my first 89. Perfect fill, and cork. Given CS’s usually glacial ageing curve, the wine was a tad more developed than I would have expected – though, to be sure, fruit remained, but it had taken a back seat. I don’t think I have ever had a more earthy wine – in the best possible way. I usually think of CS as a “hard” wine, but the texture here was silky. Not quite sure how much time remains, but for me it was very much in the zone. 93

My Napaphile friend brought a 2003 Peju Cab Franc Reserve. My experience with this producer has been unremarkable, but this was a really interesting wine. The nose was absolutely explosive, and shouted “New World”. But I could not figure out the varietal(s). It’s not cab sauv. It’s not merlot. It’s not syrah. Cab franc, really? Hard to believe this is even related to its cousins in the Loire. Super sexy, hedonistic, very long. At the age of 17 it still seemed quite primary. One-dimensional, but a pretty tasty dimension. Especially appealing if you go for this sort of thing. 91

Finally, with pumpkin pie (another perfect pairing!), a 2001 Trimbach Gewurztraminer SGN. Another winner! Something about the spices in both pumpkin pie and gewurz. Like uber concentrated and liquefied lychee and apricot, with abundant acidity in perfect balance. I love the SGNs, and with the exception of the great ZH I think they generally represent real value. 92

I don’t really know what I was thinking next – too much wine can have that effect – but I was somehow inspired to open a 1983 Cockburn port. A very short decant is of course a great disservice to a port of any age. Not quite in the same league as Grahams 83, which I’ve had a few times; nonetheless, it showed well. On the brambly side, as opposed to sweet, and a tad hot. Not surprisingly, it was better the next night. 90

Oh, the Grassl 1855 stems are slick. And functional. And beautiful.

I know it’s been said, I know I’ve read it…but Chris is really doing things right. I got my shipment of glasses (6x each) Cru & Mineralite. I promptly opened the box & pulled a pair of each out & my wife & I started enjoying them. A week later, it’s the weekend so I’m ready to organize things and get the glasses out. Unfortunately one of the Cru glasses in the corner was broken. I took a photo of it in the paper, shot him and email and he promptly said he’d ship me a new glass.

So…what do you do when you want to support someone that does things right? I bought a Champagne set. I figure at $120 for 6 its a smoking deal.

Thank you Chris!

Yeah, they are great. I bought several liberte’s a year ago and subsequently picked up a bunch of the 1855’s and Cru’s. I have GGG’s, Zaltos and a bunch of other random glasses but use Grassl’s 99% of the time. A lot lighter than Zalto’s and seem to be slightly more durable than GGG’s.

Such a great wine glass…I bought a few of the 1855’s on BerserkerDay, and when I took them out of the box, I was amazed at how light and balanced they were…almost like not even holding a glass. This is now my go to wine glass, I use it for both whites and reds…And Chris is a pleasure to deal with.

More positive feedback - I’ve been using the Zalto Bordeaux as my primary red wine glass for the last few years. Tried an 1855 out to compare and wow, I’m blown away at how light and sturdy the Grassl is. It has a shorter stem than the zalto BDX and a taller bowl, but overall a few mm shorter in height. It feels great in hand and now I have to reconsider my plan to fill in more Zaltos for a full set…

It has been said before, but Chris Freemott is delightful to work with and selling a fantastic product. Thank you!

Wonderful glasses. Absolutely love them. And when you drop one, the sound it makes is astonishing and it is amazing how it breaks into so many tiny pieces and how sad that makes you feel. But a new one is on the way! [cheers.gif]

What is price point on each tier of glasses?

www.cjfselections.com

Thanks Dave. Was looking at Grassl direct site.

Love the Grassl Cru for chardonnay and pinot noir and the Mineralite for Champagne. I still however prefer Zalto Universal for riesling and GGG for everything else.

Only problem I have with the Grassl Cru is the base is so wide it makes it difficult to store in my kitchen cabinet next to other glassware. Guess I’ll need to get a new kitchen cabinet :wink:

[berserker.gif]

just picked up more Cru and 1855 as well as a trial of the Liberte and Mineralite. Cru is beautiful for anything Pinot. 1855 just kills Bordeaux.

I’m looking forward to trying aged Champagne in the Mineralite. The wide base and tiny rim is perfectly suited to focus the nose. I have Riedel Performance Champagne that is my current go to for bubbles.

Will need to try Riesling with a few different glasses to see what I prefer.

I’m glad folks are enjoying the Grassls. Last night I had a completely cooked Renaissance cab that the 1855 made almost palatable.

Does anyone have recs for cleaning the 1855s? If I had to be critical, they don’t seem to clean up as easily as my various other stems.

The best combo I’ve had.

Been using Grassl almost exclusively for several months. The Mineralité and Liberté are working really well for me. The tasting glass is quite functional, and more likely going to be something I tote around.

Cats are still the enemy! Houdini swiped a Liberté off the table with his tail the other day. Little devil.

The Mineralité is my go to Champagne glass.

I misspoke.

Liberte and aged Champagne is my favorite combo.

Heh. When my wife and I drink Champagne, she uses Liberté, and I use Mineralité. We share.

Kelly, are you using the dishwasher?
If by hand, I suggest a bottle brush without a handle. I’ve been experimenting with many versions from amazon. The one I’ve found that’s best is a solo brush. I’ll post a photo of it later. But $11.00. Im looking into carrying them myself and selling them at cost $5.00.

I’ve used a few that have multiple brushes on their own post and one with a side mount brush. The plastic brush bristles are too firm and it is unnerving to get the glass onto the brushes.

We LOVE ours and always use the dishwasher.