Tongue Dancer Pinot Noir

nice clean and dense ruby color. nose bright with fresh picked red fruits. medium bodied with nice acidity and balance. sweet candied and sour cherries on a very concentrated palate. faintest hints of vanilla and green detectable. this should gain complexity with time; pretty straight today. lacks evidence of earth but the fruit is outstanding.

Retail $49. I met James McPhail a little more than a year ago now, right before he left his eponymous label, McPhail Family Wines. He left for a variety of reasons, one of which was to focus on this new(ish) venture, Tongue Dancer. No one would ever accuse James of being a chatterbox, just as no one would claim that he isn’t one of the most talented winemakers in California. His Pinot Noirs (and Chardonnays) are simply some of the …