The 1997 Chianti Classico Riserva, aged in the traditional oak casks of the zone, is still fresh in color, ample, plummy, and tarry on the nose, solid and sustained in flavor with a noble austerity of texture and abundant liquorice and truffle notes on the close. These are some of the longest-lasting Riserva wines of the zone, and the 1997 will still be drinking well in 2015. Princess Coralia Ghertsos Pignatelli della Leonessa is never in a hurry to release her wines, as the current releases demonstrate. But they are regularly worth waiting for, as the Princess is a perfectionist and her vineyards are some of the best in all of Chianti Classico. Importer: Domaine Select, New York, NY; tel. (212) 398-5871 and Wine For Everyone, Davie, FL tel. (954) 475-2611

Overall it’s lovely on the nose, assuming you like cedary notes of tobacco, cinnamon and wintergreen. Inordinately zesty on the tongue, with fiery tannins and live-wire acidity churning away. A little jagged and rough in terms of texture, but very much alive and kicking.——W.E.(4/1/2005)—— 88