Zalto Decanter Mystique

The larger of Zalto's two decanters, shaped to give young, powerful reds as much air as they need.

Zalto Glas is a family glassworks in Austria's Kremstal, where every piece is mouth-blown by hand and made without lead, the bowls angled to 24, 48 and 72 degrees after the tilt of the earth. The Mystique is the decanter to use when a wine needs opening rather than simply moving off its sediment. Its broad body holds a large surface of wine against the air, and that ratio is the whole design: young, concentrated reds with tannin still to resolve soften and unfold in it, and the individual characteristics and finer nuances come forward instead of sitting behind the wine's weight. The capacity also makes it the sensible choice for decanting a magnum, where a smaller vessel would mean pouring in stages. Like the rest of the range it is blown by hand, with the plain, unornamented lines the workshop favours.

Use it for full-bodied red wines, particularly young and powerful ones, and for magnums. Hand-wash in warm water without detergent and dry with a lint-free cloth.