After reading about it at Lenndevours, and then again in Food & Wine, Liz and I decided to throw our collective hat into Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted this week by the equally great Wine Cask Blog. This week's theme was "Regular vs. Reserve," which ties in nicely with my post on what makes a quality wine:

It's up to YOU to determine if the "reserves" are really that much better. So get two bottles, same vineyard/winery same vintage but have one be the "regular" version and have one be the "reserve" label (different "levels" of the wine are fine as many "reserves" are not actually labeled as such). Compare them. What makes the reserve wine better? Is it really worth it?

Unfortunately, due to serious personal computer failure, our time to research was limited, and the difficulty locating a wine shop that could provide two bottles from the same maker and vintage added to the difficulty. We were shown several wines by perhaps the most apathetic wine consultant we've ever met, and ended up with the following:

2004 Grati Fattoria di Vetrice Chianti Rufina ($11)
2003 Grati Villa di Vetrice Chianti Rufina Riserva ($15)

We tasted these on Easter Sunday with my parents, who are wine novices themselves. Below are our tasting notes:

2004 Chianti Rufina

Bryan
Clear and pale ruby in color, with a touch of garnet at the rim, with red cherry and plum notes in the nose that were light and easily overwhelmed by the hint of cedar. Thin, tart, slightly effervescent in the mouth, its acidity and tannins overwhelmed the fruit, and the finish was short. Overall, a very unmemorable wine.

Liz
Clear, light, ruby. Not terribly aromatic, slightly bubbly. It is thin, tart, astringent, with not much of a finish.

Dad
Eh.

Mom
(makes pucker face) Not my cuppa tea.

2003 Chianti Rufina Riserva

Chianti Rufina Riserva are aged for two years in oak barrels before release

Bryan
Darker and more reddish garnet than the previous wine, with a bit more pepper and vanilla in the nose. Tart and slightly bitter in the mouth, with less fruit and more round tannins. I liked this wine better than the first, but not by much.

Liz
Slightly less clear, more garnet in color. Non-aromatic really, with a more complex taste but still thin in the mouth. More fruit at the front and more of a tannic finish. A little bitter.

Dad
Eh.

Mom
I like Merlot. That's what I like.

The concensus? The Riserva won out, simply by being the lesser of two evils.