WineLovers Discussion Group

I had a glass of this at a restaurant last night. Interestingly, it was listed on the menu as a Central Coast Pinot Noir and then in the notes it was described as a classic Oregon Pinot Noir. I asked to see the bottle and determined it was from Santa Barbara County, not Oregon. They will correct their notes.
Checking on the web it appears to be a Fetzer product or part of the Brown-Forman family. However, the website lists Five Rivers Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and others but no Pinot Noir. Is the 2004 the first vintage marketed?
I will say off the bat that I quite liked this wine. It was $6.00 for a glass at the restaurant, $23.95 by the bottle but retails for less than $10 to $12.
Dark scarlet color, not opaque. 13.5% alcohol by volume
Bright raspberries and light smoky nose with similar flavors along with a sharp peppery finish. Very tasty. Medium to full bodied. Lengthy finish.
Any comments Hoke?

JC, I know Five Rivers made a 2003 Santa Barbara version which was panned by some critics. Fetzer used to make a Five Rivers Ranch Pinot designation as well.

JC,

I had a 99 that I liked a lot. Here's the TN from the old WLDG:

Topic: TN: Finally, a drinkable under -$10 pinot
Author: Jenise
Date: Wed Sep 19 11:48:48 2001
I love pinot noir and am constantly faced with the dilemna of drinking $30 bottles or having no pinot at all. So I have a lot less pinot than I''d like. Encouraged by the delicious 99 basic La Crema a friend poured for me this weekend, $12.99 at Costco, I picked up a ''99 Fetzer Five Rivers Ranch (Santa Maria) yesterday at Ralph''s for $9. Medium bodied, good spice-and-cherry pinot character without much of that green character wines from this area can have, well-balanced, not over-oaked. Very, very good for the price.

Thanks for digging up your tasting note Jenise. This could be a good everyday wine with a variety of entrees.

Well, it at least proves that the 2004 isn't the first!