Thursday, September 21, 2006

Wine of the Week, September 21

Yeah, I know, it is more like wine of the two weeks....

If you can find some, the 2002 Nippozano Chianti from Frescobaldi is worth the $$. "2002 was a lousy year in Tuscany!", you yell at me, so why am I recommending this wine? Well, it was so bad that the estate reportedly did not make their better Chianti that year. And the best grapes they had went into the cheapo (in comparison) Chianti. The wine is funky, with a lot of character, good primary fruit, typical Italian bitter cherry, and substantial. Oh, and in case it matters to you, this is one case where the Wine Speculator agrees with me.

On the other hand, the 2003 version of this wine also represents good value, but for basically the opposite reason. Apparently 2003 rocked in that part of Tuscany (not as good as 2001), and while the best grapes went into the best wines, even this lowly Chianti was blessed with great fruit. Go figure. Now we just need to learn to look out for the average years, I guess.

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