WTN: Marchesi di Frescobaldi "Nipozzano" Chianti Rufina Riserva 1999

Dusky purple with ruby edges. Sweet dark cherries and dust (my wife says "mothballs") on the nose, with hints of underbrush, milk chocolate, and cherry liqueur. Forty minutes of air opens this up dramatically into cherry perfume and a scent of cherry pits. Medium-bodied and cooly refreshing on the palate, with slightly snappy but unassertive acidity. Semi-sweet mixed red and black fruit flavors get a light coating of tannins on the finish. $18, and a good value this cheapskate's book. 13% alcohol. (FWIW, I liked the 2000 Nipozzano a whole lot too. I've got an '01 in the cellar.)

Thanks for the note Clinton. Nipozzano used to be a regular in my home.

Not sure why, but I haven't tried it in a number of years. I seem to recall the price kept increasingly regularly.

I tried this wine a few years ago and came away with the exact same impressions - especially vis-a-vis the cherry fruit. It was a decent wine as I recall. Haven't had any in a long time though.

One time I had a Barbera that was 14% alc. and had more than a touch of acetic volatility to it ... but it was also very raspberryish, and quite fascinatingly old-style. It was a Mascarello of some kind, if I recall correctly. The Nipozzano is a much tamer wine by comparison.

Thanks for the note. I had a bottle of this wine in June and enjoyed it very much as well. Another remains the cellar. Amazingly, the miserable Montgomery County, Md., alcohol monopoly had it on sale for $15.50 --one of the few times prices there have actually been better than the D.C. competition.

I don't know if it's the terroir or just my imagination, but I've found Chianti Rufinas superior to other Chiantis and Tuscan reds, at least to my taste. Somehow they seem more minerally to me. While I like this bottling, I've found Selvapiana to be the best and Travaglini not bad either.