What can one expect? It's a Riedel Sommeliers glass and they are expensive. The question is whether or not it is worth the price of admission? The Sommeliers Black Tie is slightly taller than the non Black Tie version. Aesthetically, the Black Tie version is more imposing, but the same wine from the same bottle taste the same out of either glass. Now if one compares an Hermitage or Grenache wine in this glass versus other Riedel Sommeliers, there is a difference and it is for the better. The Riedel wine glass concept is to show a wine at its best and not concentrate on its flaws with the idea of designing specific glasses for specific wines. There are notable differences in the wine experience, all of this is subjective, of course, but the acid test is to compare the wine glasses side by side with wine from the same bottle. And usually the Sommeliers for a specific wine is better. So, if one has appropriate wines, it maybe worth the cost. Just don't expect a Sommeliers to elevate $2 buck Chuck to a higher level. The drawback of these sorts of wine glasses is that they are fragile because the thickness of the rims is thinner than normal wine glasses. So be careful in hand washing and drying them and never turn the glass by its stem in doing so. And, equally important, don't shake the glass to get out residual water because one is more likely to hit the rim of the glass against something - just turn the glass upside down and let the water drain out.