91 Chiantis

Tasted 91 chiantis? Nope, can't afford that kind of action. What I did is get me hands on two chiantis that scored 91 in the Wine Spectator. Tasted 'em blind, too. Turned out to be no contest, though. Just look at the corks (above); that and a quick whiff of the glasses told me all I need to know - the Marchese Antinori, Chianti Classico, Riserva 2001 wins hands down. Deeply coloured it shows a bit of age with a bricky rim. The nose reeks of elegance with tar and dried cherries. It is chewy but oh so refined with more cherries on the palate balanced by wet earth. (Don't think a wine can taste of earth? check this link out... http://tv.winelibrary.com/gary-vaynerchuk-on-late-night-with-conan-obrien). Beautiful integrated tannins. Bravo!, an old-style "WOW" wine. This is worth the $34, fellas - this kind of Italian beauty usually costs more (and a lot of more expensive Italian stuff is blown away by this baby).
So, where does that leave the Frescobaldi, Castello di Nipozzano, Chianti Rufina, Riserva 2004? More purplish in the glass than the Antinori, it's also deeply coloured. It has a candy-like, somewhat fake nose. Thank God the palate is clean and devoid of that candy. It tastes like sour cherry pie filling (smooth but not sweet) balanced by an earthiness also. The koko factor: "it tastes like fall smells". This is merely a "good" wine but not worth the $22.
How both these wines scored "91" is beyond me - one deserves it, the other doesn't. I was really disappointed with the '04 Nipozzano, especially as the 2002 version could have given the Antinori a run for its money (although this was purportedly essentially declassified Montesodi due to a poor harvest). Beware the '03 Nipozzano - it's relative crap.
Cheers!!