Clueless

[cbook]

I just bought a bottle of (I'm typing what's on the label because I really don't know) "Linaio 1991 Ruffino". What is this wine like? Sweet, dry, terrible? Any help is greatly appreciated!

[wondersofwine]

I'm not familiar with that one--only Ruffino Chianti Classico. You might try posting on the Italian wines thread (we normally discourage double postings, but your request may have been overlooked in the Novice thread.)

[stevebody]

Ruffina is a style of wine in Tuscany, as well as very similar to the name of one of the oldest and best Chianti houses in the region, Ruffino. Ruffina, as a style of wine, is dry, lighter in character, and usually a bit tart, as good, cheap Chianti frequently is. Yours should be a fairly nice wine but absolutely NOT something that should have waited 12 years to open. Open it aqnd see what's left. It may not be vinegar but it may well be faded to a faint shadow of its original self.

[Kcwhippet]

Can't find Linaio in any reference. I don't believe Ruffino's portfolio ever had a wine labeled with that name. Just an added note. Rufina is one of the six or so Chianti areas, a bit northeast of Florence. Because of the soil and microclimate (the terroir) around Rufina, it's wines are generally fuller and have a higher acidity than any other Chiantis including Classico. As such, they produce some of the best and longest lived Wines af any Chiantis. In fact, the 1981 Selvapiana Chianti Rufina is probably one of the best Chiantis ever produced from Rufina or any other Chianti region.