Customer Reviews

Spiegelau Authentis Collection Bordeaux Wine Glasses, Set of 6

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I just got my set of Spiegelau Bordeaux glasses, and let me say how impressed I am, especially considering that these can be had packaged with the Spiegelau Burgundy glasses in a buy-one-get-one-free deal from Amazon. That's a TREMENDOUS deal.

So what do you get for the money? Well, primarily, a high-quality, attractive glass that very nicely accentuates the nose (smell) of a wine. I won't wine-snob out, but really: they work. My wife and I even did blind sniff comparisons between the Spiegelau Bordeaux, a cheap 8 oz. spherical wine glass, and a mid-priced 16 oz. wide-bowl red wine glass. We both picked out the Spiegelau first try; it jumps out at you more, there's more depth, the scent is just stronger. Pretty amazing, actually. (NOTE: we used a Columbia Crest Merlot for our test, which is a nice, inexpensive, everyday wine. The glasses may work even better with wines like Cabernets, but I think any medium- to heavy-bodied red would benefit from the size and shape.)

Will the Spiegelau make the wine taste better, as Riedel is supposed to do? In my opinion, not appreciably, except insofar as smell is such an important part of taste. However, considering that one Riedel Sommellier costs as much as 12 Spiegelaus on Amazon, you won't see me buying the Riedel for a comparison anytime soon. I have my doubts that the Riedel can be that much better, and it seems to me that if you're gonna drop fifty bucks for a single glass you'll be eager to validate the purchase. But hey, these Riedel people are no doubt more sophisticated than me, so I could be wrong here. And in any case, it's Riedel's lower-priced Vinum line that's competing with these Spiegelaus, and the Vinum is more expensive than these for no real benefit.

In any case, nothing comes close to the Spiegelaus for the price. I think it's a perfect wine glass set for moderate/casual drinkers, and especially those just starting to really enjoy wine.

Oh, and one final thing: of *course* the glasses are thin - that's what you want, so that the glass gets out of the way of the wine. Just wash them carefully by hand and you won't have any problems. Any wineglass that isn't fragile isn't worth paying for.

We try not to be "wine snobs" but find that we are now "wine glass snobs"! These glasses DO make a difference in the way wine tastes - we're guessing it has more to do with the way their shape focuses the bouquet than anything else. We have tried side by side taste tests with traditionally shaped/sized glasses and everyone agrees the wine is better from the Spiegelau's.
We have purchased all four sets of Spiegelau available on Amazon - the "generic" red and white sets plus the bordeaux and burgundy sets. All were delivered promptly, in perfect condition without breakage or chipping of any kind.
We use the bordeaux and burgundy sizes most of the time for the reds we drink. The generic white is a little too small for a chard but works for other whites. We use the generic red for the chards.
We can't compare Spiegelau to Riedel since we've never had wine from anything other than their cheapest glasses and we didn't care for those.
Yes, the glasses are fragile and require special handling - we wouldn't dare wash them in the dishwasher and handwashing requires extra care. But, this is a small inconvenience for the pleasure we get from the glasses.
The price with the bonus make these glasses a true bargain ...We haven't seen anything to beat that for the same quality of glass.

Why spend more on "that other manufacture's" glasses. These glasses are equal or better in quality to the Riedel machine blown glasses at about half the price. I love a good glass of wine, and now good wine glasses. I discovered Spiegelau approx. one year ago. They were recommended by the Sommelier at the Biltmore Estates Winery as the best value in quality stemware. Do yourself a favor, and pour a "big" Cab or Cab blend into one of these glasses and taste the wine like it was meant to be tasted. My other Spiegelau glasses (a different line) were very good, these are great. If you don't beleave me, ask people in the wine industry. That's what I did.

Just received my Spiegelau Bordeaux and Burgundy glasses, (which I received as a "freebie" when I ordered the Bordeaux).. They look great, have a good weight, and made it thru the dishwasher rinse cycle no problem. Now, to see if they hold up to heavy use. I sell wine, and use a lot of Riedel and Spiegelau daily, and these look as good as any Riedel I've used (excpet the Sommelier series)

Needless to say, these glasses are not on par with the Reidel somellier series. However, at half the price of Reidel's machine blown glasses, Spiegelau offers the best value for the price. I have yet to find any other set of glasses that offers this kind of quality, aimed at serious wine drinkers, for anything close to these prices. These may not be the premier cru of the glass world, but they are definately the village level that surpasses expectation for the price.

Ordered these on buy one get the Burgundy set free. They are very similar to the Riedel at 1/3 the cost. They are a little thicker than the Riedel but feel and look almost the same. Would highly recommend them. Save your money and get these over the competition. I was recently at the Ritz and they used these same glasses.

The glasses are perfect- an equal to Riedel in every aspect. The shape and lip of the glass really do affect the wine- particularly the nose. In these glasses you will discover depth and complexity previously unknown. You will always find flaws- and in doing so, learn to extend your knowledge of wine.- Also-- contrary to popular belief- Amazon.com does stock this item. I ordered 24 glasses, all were delivered within the stated time.

I ordered a combination package of 6 Bordeaux and 6 Burgundy Spiegelau wine glasses. Although all 6 Burgundy glasses arrived safely, only 3 of the Bordeaux glasses arrived in tact. I must admit I am surprised that not all of the glasses are broken when you consider how Amazon shipped these. They arrived in the original mfgr's box with nothing more than tissue paper wrapped around the glasses. No packing material was used. I'd still recommend the purchase although it's not clear to me how long it will take before I have all 12 glasses to enjoy.

I cannot emphasize how fantastic these glasses are. I've bought many different brands at price points above and below the Spiegelau Authentis, and this is the one that I've gone back and bought more and more of. It's beautiful, feels right in your hand, and really opens up a big tannic red (which for most people who don't cellar, means everthing you buy from that $8 grocery store bargain to that $80 Napa cab). Time and again I've proven to friends that it improves the taste of the wine compared to regular glasses - it's the shape, the thin lip, the size, everything comes together perfectly. As for fragility that a few other reviewers noted, I have one word... DUH! Come on folks, let's be fair, it's $9/stem 5% lead crystal, would you really put that in a dishwasher? Or expect it to survive when it tips over in a steel/ceramic sink? Of course not. I have had my 8 glasses for 1.5 years now and have yet to break any, in spite of using them several times a week, taking them to parties every few weeks in the original flimsy cardboard box (you should see how I drive!), knocking them over on wood furniture, etc. etc. In comparison, in 1 recent party, our host lost 2 Riedel Vinum glasses just during normal hand washing. Anyway, if you know the difference between cheap and real wine glasses, just get these and you won't regret it...

I ordered the 6 Burgandy glasses with the Bordeux bonus-Great Christmas gift. Unfortunatly the original box was placed in a larger box with bubble wrap around the sides and top-not the bottom. I received one broken glass in each box!