June 2007 Wine Tasting Notes.
2005 Five Rivers Pinot noir, Central Coast.
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This Pinot is medium depth garnet with very good clarity in the glass. On the nose, this wine opens with medium intensity aromas of smoked meats which diminish with aeration. Light intensity aromas of cherry and cola persist throughout. Light intensity crisp spice aromas (caraway and pepper) become more evident with airing. In the mouth, light intensity cherry and cola dominate oaky notes. This wine is very light in body, with wispy tannins and appropriately bright acids. The medium length finish reveals strawberry and mineral notes ending a bit warm. |
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13.95% Alcohol $12.99 Retail (from winery); 47,000 cases produced |
This is a light and demure Pinot and represents a good value. Of all the 2005 Central Coast Pinot noirs, this one is among the few that will actually do well with salmon. While it is not particularly lean, it is a paradigm shift for those who prefer a bold, highly extracted Pinot. Despite the warm ending, the alcohol is well proportioned overall. Enjoy this wine over the next three years. BOTTOM LINE: Fairly good. No serious flaws. Worth trying. |
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| Supplemental/Repeat tasting: None. | ||
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More Five Rivers reviews. More on the Central Coast AVA |
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Detail: Production | Producer | Vintage | Grapes | Vineyard
Made from 100% Pinot noir form the famed Bien Nacido, Premiere Coast Vineyards, Laetitia Vineyard and the Zabala Vineyard in Monterey. Cold soaked (for color extraction) after gentle destemming and pressing, the wine was fermented in small, open-top fermenters with daily pump-overs. This wine was then aged one year in French Oak (80% Medium Toast and 20% Medium Plus, 20% new barrels) after completing 100% malolactic fementation.
Part of the Brown-Forman portfolio, Five Rivers Winery, has been making wine since the 1999 vintage. The name refers to the fiver rivers flowing through the Central Coast: the San Benito, Salinas, Santa Maria, Santa Ynez and Sisquoc Rivers. The labels is focused on producing wines from all parts of the Central Coast, including the 600-acre property in Paso Robles. Steve Peck, is Head Winemaker at Five Rivers. The self-proclaimed former wild child and surfer was turned on to wine (and Pinot noir, in particular) when living in Santa Cruz. While he spends a lot of time in the vineyard tasting the fruit, he delegates more in the cellar until it is time to blend. All Five Rivers wines are closed with synthetic closures. Read More
Pinot Noir, the noble Burgundian grape, is often described as "difficult" to grow but the wine is beautiful and complex when circumstances are favorable. It is one of the oldest grape varieties to be vinified. The tiny (~60 square miles) Côte d'Or in Burgundy, France has been the benchmark for Pinot Noir for centuries. Nonetheless, it is planted worldwide. It is often described as delicate and light bodied and having a soft texture. The aromas and flavors are the most distinct and identifiable and most complex of all varieties. Common fruit aromas are: cherry, raspberry, ripe tomato and strawberry. It can express floral notes or rose or violet. Spice is a big element of Pinot Noir: cardamom, caraway, cinnamon, cola, clove, nutmeg, pepper, rosemary and sassafras. Most California Pinot Noirs made today (with some exceptions) rarely have the make up to last past a decade but with age they can show tobacco and smoke characteristics. (read more)
The Bien Nacido Vineyard is one of Santa Maria Valley's oldest vineyard sites, planted in the 1970's by brothers Bob and Steve (now deceased) a year after the purchase of the property. The land grant where the vineyard is located dates back to 1837. As Nicholas Miller says: "A great full circle though, is that the land grant and the adobe on the ranch belonged to the family of James Ontiveros (our director of sales), eight generations back. He now has Rancho Ontiveros across the valley with his own label - Native 9". The nearly 900 acre vineyard has over 720 acres of fruit in production and bears one of the most formidable reputations in the area with its fruit being sought out by many wine makers. Bien Nacido Vineyard is also one of the major viticultural nurseries for certified varietal budwoods. There are now 3 wineries on the ranch: Qupe and Au Bon Climat, Tantara and Ambullneo. The Vineyard sits on the Santa Maria Bench - the northern bank of the Santa Maria River, at the foot of the San Rafael Mountains. Reaching elevations of 1000 feet, the vineyard has a number of microclimates - from cool to warm enough to grow Merlot. The northwestern portion follows a canyon into the San Rafael Mountains along the Cuyama River. One of the westernmost vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley, the vineyard enjoys southwestern sun exposure and is subject to marine influences from the Pacific Ocean just 17 miles to the west. Morning and evening fogs cool the vines while the vineyard's location on the sloping Santa Maria bench gives it some protection form the strong winds blowing through the Santa Maria Valley. The soils of the vineyard are rather varied: well-draining sandy loam, chalk and sedimentary rock. Vines are being currently re-oriented in a north-south orientation to optimize sun exposure and thereby replace the original east-west arrangement. In addition, vine density has been doubled with planting of rows between the previously 12-foot spaced rows. At this time, almost all usable land is under vine, planted to U.C. Davis - certified virus-free vines. Varieties at Bien Nacido include: some 300 acres of Chardonnay, 250 acres of Pinot noir, as well as Pinot gris, Pinot blanc, Roussanne, Tocai Friulano, Viognier (10 acres), Barbera, Merlot (30 acres), Nebbiolo, Petit Verdot, Refosco and Syrah (just over 28 acres). Because over 50 producers rely on Bien Nacido for quality fruit, the vineyard custom farms allotted blocks per specifications of individual producers.
The 458-acre Premiere Coastal Vineyard sits outside the obliquely running southwestern border of the Santa Maria Valley AVA along Highway 101 at Palmer Road, north of the town of Los Alamos. Planted in 1998, the vineyard produces Chardonnay (200 acres), Pinot Noir (100 acres), Merlot (80 acres) and Syrah (78 acres). The Los Alamos Valley, the proposed new AVA where the vineyard is located, sits between the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez Valley AVAs. Its intermediate geography translates into intermediate climate. The temperatures here are on average 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than in the Santa Maria Valley and 10 degrees cooler than in the Santa Ynez Valley. Growing on the southwestern-facing slopes of the Solomon Hills (which form the northern border of the proposed Los Alamos AVA), the 26 blocks of the vineyard are farmed for and sold to small and large producers including: Au Bon Climat, Bridlewood, Wild Horse Winery, William James Cellars, Fetzer and Beringer Blass Wine Estates (formerly Beringer).
Laetitia Vineyard’s 1,888-acre estate vineyard is planted to 620 acres of vines on south-facing hillsides three or four miles from the Pacific Ocean, mostly on the east side of Highway 101, in the southwestern corner of the Arroyo Grande Valley AVA. The original vines were planted in 1982 by French enologists who matched grape varieties to the terroir of the vineyard. In the late 1990’s the same approach of matching the variety to site was applied. This portion of the Arroyo Grande AVA (south of Pismo Beach) receives a strong marine influence in the form of fog and winds. The vines’ location on southern slopes affords them some protection from the more severe extremes of this a Climate Region I area, giving them optimal sun exposure and extended hang time. The soils of the estate are varied. Predominant among those is a layer of loamy clay on top of decomposed volcanic tuft and limestone shale. These soils are very well draining. Calcareous based soils tend to be rather fertile, so the vines are farmed to yield about 4.5 pounds of grapes per. The varieties grown include: Chardonnay (85 acres), Pinot Blanc (64 acres), Pinot Gris (20 acres), Pinot noir (about 450 acres), Riesling (3.6 acres), Syrah (26 acres) and Tempranillo (27 acres).
The very large (approximately 1,200-acre) Zabala Vineyard is located in the center of Arroyo Seco AVA east of Salinas river and west of Highway 101, north of the city of Greenfield. The vineyard is managed by the Coastal Vineyard Management, Inc. The vineyard’s location in the Salinas Valley gives its vines more exposure to the afternoon cooling winds. The soils of the vineyard are quite challenging. With a high amount of "Greenfield potatoes") (cobblestones) in a mix of sand and gravel, they are deficient in nutrients. To counter this, various cover crops are employed. With rather low annual rainfall (an average of 12 inches), the vineyard requires supplemental irrigation because its soils drain and do not retain water. These conditions, when nurtured properly, give complex fruit. The vineyard grows Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Riesling, Pinot noir and Syrah.
The 2005 year saw an increase in crops over the preceding years. The year is being compared to the acclaimed 1997 vintage because of a very long and generally cool growing season without heat spikes. This long season resulted in extended hang times in even temperatures which gave the fruit good extraction but lower sugar levels. The slow ripening of the fruit is expected to make for elegance and balance in the wines of this vintage. Read More
Rating
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Color |
5 points |
(5 points max) |
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Nose |
3 points |
(5 points max) |
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Palate |
2 points |
(5 points max) |
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Finish |
3 points |
(5 points max) |
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Tannins |
5 points |
(5 points max) |
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Acidity |
5 points |
(5 points max) |
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Alcohol |
5 points |
(5 points max) |
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Aging potential |
1 points |
(5 points max) |
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Overall quality |
7 points |
(10 points max) |
Cumulative Score: 86
Rating System & Scoring Criteria explained
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