The first glass was a clear garnet wine which smelled fresh, clear, bright and green. My first thought on tasting it: "This is GOOD!" I was pretty sure it wasn't the Vino Nobile; this one, to me, seemed to have a sharp finish as opposed to the smoothness of the Nobile. It was spicy, not dry, and went down easy. My guess was the Ruffino Chianti.
The second glass was a clear garnet wine with a heavy, soft smell, almost of sour cream or vanilla; of the four wines, this one smelled the most different. The wine seemed thick as I swirled it. Right away I was thinking Vino Nobile, because I remember it being heavy and velvety. It tasted smooth, velvety, soft and buttery, with low acid.
The third glass was a clear purplish-red. This was a pretty good clue to me that this was the Merlot, as it was the only one of the four that looked different. It smelled very much like alcohol, with perhaps a faint cherry smell. I thought the taste was the worst of the four; it was tart, and it made me make a face when I drank it.
The fourth glass was a clear garnet and smelled like some sort of nut; perphaps hazelnut. Next to the Merlot, this had the worst taste. It was perhaps the most dry of the four (it certainly left my mouth with a strange dry feeling) and it had a bad aftertaste, almost sour. My guess was that this was the boxed Chianti.
Well, I was correct about the first glass (Ruffino Chianti--good!!) and the third glass (Merlot--no reason to bother buying this one again). But, surprise surprise! I mixed up the boxed Chianti and the Vino Nobile!! I can't believe I loved the Vino Nobile so much when I tried it in Montepulciano, but I didn't even like it compared to Chianti in a box!! I guess that answers my question about whether I want to spend a bunch of money getting some Vino Nobile shipped to me (Um, no). An eye-opener!
