The cooling did turn out to be the secret! One of the compiled Chardewardon/snowe glasses went into the fridge overnight, and today at lunch, it was much better than last night--everything had firmed up nicely, and the flavors were even better. The snowe in the middle section fell just a bit because it was sandwiched in there, but otherwise, it was perfect.
Note to self: Next time leave plenty of time to refrigerate!