Fife Vineyards
2005 L'Attitude 39(Mendocino)
Let me start with an observation about what this wine does NOT have… Attitude! In my opinion, that is all for the good. If you want oenological arrogance and show-off flavors, look elsewhere.
This is a well crafted and modest wine. Not a “little” wine, but rather an understated, interesting wine to explore and “get to know” over the course of a meal. There’s a nice meld of berries, tobacco, and earth here - a Rhone-style chorus singing over a soft continuo of tannins and restrained alcohol.
With these varietals sourced from the Mendocino hills, perhaps the wine would be better named Allitude!. Whatever the name, it is a real treat to find wines like this for a mere twenty bucks. You’d pay three times as much for real Attitude!!
Reviewed March 1, 2008 by Roger Dial.
Other reviewed wines from Fife Vineyards
The Wine
Winery: Fife Vineyards |
The ReviewerUnder various hats (winegrower/maker/negotiant/writer) Roger Dial has been tasting wine professionally for 40 years. He regards varietal and regional diversity as the best virtues of wine, and is ever-suspicious of the quest (by producers and critics, alike) for “universal greatness”. His tasting regime is simple: Is the wine technically sound? Is it interesting? Warning: he’s a sucker for all aromatic varieties. |