• I'd already tasted the 1996 Gabbiano Chianti Classico and found it, if not great, then at least good
• The price was right: $10 for a good Chianti Classico is not bad.
• The bottle has a cool picture of a stylized medieval knight, an adaptation (I discovered) of a Florentine "sinopia" fresco from the Castello di Gabbiano; the fresco was destroyed during the Second World War.
• The Castello di Gabbiano was once owned by Pietro Soderini who, as any student of Florentine history will tell you, was Gonfalonier of Florence in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, until the returning Medicis booted him from power and effectively ended Florence's republican aspirations.

OK: little of this has to do with the wine, but it got me worked up. Too bad. Had I written this review yesterday, I would have told you that the wine was bad, straight up. Today, after it's had a day to oxidize in the bottle, I would say that it's merely disappointing, but otherwise manageable.

I had a bad feeling once I poured the glass, since the color was a light red with brickish tints, quite clear--all this being a sign that it was not to be as formidable a wine as the 1996. The aromas--of oak and flowers--were quite strong, perhaps too much so. The taste was confused and out of balance: the oak was very prominent, but with little fruit, acid, and tannin to back it up. There was almost no finish, and I had to struggle to finish the first glass. After a day of moderate oxygen exposure (in the vacuum-sealed bottle), the oak flavors faded somewhat, bringing the wine closer to a reasonable balance, but it was still not the best Chianti by any stretch of the imagination. I may have to stay away from this one in the future.

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