Tongue Dancer, Sonoma Coast (California) Pinot Noir 2015

When James MacPhail walked away from his namesake winery a year or so back, he already had a new plan. He and Kerry MacPhail, his wife, planned to launch another brand with the goal of producing hand-crafted wines from unique vineyard sites and heritage clones of Pinot Noir. The 2015 Sonoma Coast Pinot from Tongue Dancer is about as hand-crafted as it gets. One barrel and one keg that yielded 35 cases of wine. It’s a beautiful effort that highlights the cherry aspect of Pinot, along with floral and spice notes and a firm grip on the finish. It’s a start. A very good start.