I love to talk about wine with people who share my passion for it. We open bottles, we trade stories about travel and soil types, terroir and residual sugar, and we talk of taste and food and restaurants. We recommend wines to one another, we drink, and we learn a lot.
In Wine Talk, I introduce you to friends, acquaintances, and people I meet as I make my way around the world, individuals who love wine as much as I do, who live to taste, who farm and make wine. You’ll appreciate their insight, and I hope you’ll learn something from them as well.
James MacPhail was busy when we walked up to Grapewagon Custom Crush, his winemaking facility in Healdsburg, California. It was a beautiful harvest day, early October 2019. He and a crew were unloading a truck full of grapes that had just arrived, and they were in a hurry. I shook his hand in greeting, and he went back to the task at hand.
I was there to meet MacPhail (for the first time) and taste some of his Tongue Dancer wines — he and Kerry MacPhail, his partner and wife, launched the label in 2012. (Note: The brief wait for MacPhail to finish his work was well worth it, because there are some great wines being made in the well-designed facility.)
MacPhail’s name is known far and wide in the wine world, for good reason. His touch with the Pinot Noir grape has been producing memorable results for a long time — his first “assistant” winemaking job started in 1999, and he launched MacPhail Family Wines, as head winemaker, with the 2001 vintage. (The Hess Collection purchased MacPhail Family Wines in 2011.)
MacPhail, in addition to Tongue Dancer, makes wine for, among others, Chronicle Wines, Grant Family Vineyard, Tipp Rambler, and Sangiacomo Wines. He has produced more than 130 Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays that have been awarded 90 points or more by critics and publications, a feat that has earned him a spot in the 90+/90+ Club in Sonoma County. Grapewagon Custom Crush counts among its clients Sangiacomo, Calafia Cellars, and Flaunt Wine Company. It’s a busy place.
After a quick tour of the crush facility, James took us upstairs, where we tasted a number of wines, including some excellent Pinots and Chardonnays. Kerry joined us and added to James’ stories — it was quickly obvious that she is more than an equal partner in all aspects of his life. They have a great thing going on.
Not long after I moved to Los Angeles, in November of 2019, I found a bottle of 2004 MacPhail Toulouse Vineyard Pinot Noir at a local merchant. I picked it up for about $30, and opened it a week or so later, to pair with a steak. Its color had faded a bit, but it was drinking wonderfully well.
MacPhail has many years of winemaking ahead of him, and for that we should all be glad, because he’s getting only better.
Let’s see what MacPhail has to say in Wine Talk:
James Brock: Tell us about three wines you think are drinking well at the moment. What makes them worthwhile? How about a food pairing for each one?
James MacPhail: There are a couple of wines right now that are singing. First, the 2017 8 Hand Fiano. It’s a beautiful domestic expression of the Italian grape. Comes from a vineyard out in the Dry Creek Valley. Beautiful nutty notes with white flowers and honeysuckle. Nice acidity, with a low impact of oak. Great wine to have chilled on these warmer days with fish dishes (halibut, ceviche, sushi), and light pastas (angel hair with prawns or pesto). I believe it sells for around $35 a bottle. (Note: If you want more information about 8 Hand, including ordering details, leave me a comment.)
Next, 2017 Sangiacomo Pinot Noir Roberts Road Vineyard, from one of my all-time favorite vineyards. I’ve been making wine from this vineyard since 2003 (13 years for MacPhail, four years now for Sangiacomo). This is a beautiful expression of bright red-fruit Pinot, with balanced oak and acidity, and a very enjoyable, fun, and thought-provoking Pinot. The vineyard sits in the Petaluma Gap, so with the cooler climate, fruit gets slightly tougher skins, resulting in a Pinot with a good backbone as well. Delicious. Best all-time pairing is Peking duck.
Finally, my 2015 Tongue Dancer Wines Chardonnay Bacigalupi Vineyard. From a rich vintage (last drought year), this Chardonnay is weighty, rich, opulent, and lush, yet still carries an elegant acidity that keeps it bright and refreshing … the best of both worlds. We are officially sold out of this, but have kept a small “stash” because it is such a gem. If anyone is interested, here’s the link: https://tonguedancerwines.com/library-wines. Since this is a ‘big’ Chardonnay, richer, creamy pasta dishes pair well (lobster and crab!). Also, grilled chicken.
JB: If cost was no consideration, tell us the one bottle you would add to your personal collection, and why?
JP: Well, being a white Burgundy fan, I would probably head in that direction — maybe a Domaine Ramonet Montrachet Grand Cru?
JB: What is your favorite grape, and why?
JP: Pinot Noir. When I first began in this industry, I started out learning winemaking at Quivira Vineyards, a small, artisan producer in the Dry Creek Valley. They focused on their estate varietals — Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel — and some Rhone varietals — Grenache, Mourvedré and Syrah. Made a nice GSM. I spent about five-and-a-half years working there. I then went to work for Unti Vineyards, another small, artisan producer in the Dry Creek Valley, also focusing on their estate varietals, this time all Italian.
Over these years, I was always going home and drinking Pinot Noir. That was the grape varietal that resonated with me the most, had the most layers, and was the most thought-provoking. I feel that our winegrowing and winemaking industry really started to “figure out” Pinot here in California in the early to mid-1990’s — where it excelled, best winemaking practices, etc.
After my time at Unti, I decided to focus exclusively on Pinot Noir, and that is when I went to work for Gary Farrell. From that point on, I committed myself to Pinot. I told myself I wanted to learn one varietal and learn it well. Now, 20 years later …
JB: How about one bottle that our readers should buy now to cellar for 10 years, to celebrate a birth, anniversary, or other red-letter day?
JP: My wife, Kerry, and I have our own personal wine brand, Tongue Dancer Wines, that we started in 2012. We make only a limited production of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, from the best vineyard sites, artisan cooperages, and only small lots. One of the Pinots is from my favorite vineyard out on the “true” Sonoma Coast — Putnam Vineyard — about three miles off the Pacific Ocean. The site and winemaking lends itself to a wine that is very age-worthy. The way the first set of vintages has aged is very exciting. We call it the Pinot de Ville, and the label has a different classic vintage Cadillac with each vintage. In my opinion, it’s a Pinot that can go up against any other Pinot from California or Oregon!
JB: Where is your go-to place when you want to have a glass or bottle (outside your home and workplace)?
JP: Well, this is a hard one, because Kerry and I don’t really go out to drink; with so much wine in-house, we stay home! My favorite bar in town is Duke’s Spirited Cocktails. Great bar. However, when I am on the road, I seek out wine bars. I always like to patronize local establishments trying hard to educate and offer a diverse and interesting selection of wines.
JB: If there was one thing you wish everyone would keep in mind when buying and drinking wine, what is it?
JP: That’s simple: Try. Something. New.
JB: What is your “wine eureka moment,” the incident/taste/encounter that put you and wine on an intimate plane forever?
JP: Well, I never had an “Ah-Ha” moment. For me, it stemmed more from being around wine growing up, and being taught about wine. I grew up around a very European table, where food and wine went hand in hand. My parents would always have a bottle of wine with dinner, and teach my sister and me, from as early as I can remember, on special occasions with a shot glass of half wine and half water. So I think I got it in my blood.
I had an opportunity in my mid-20’s to change course in my life, and I chose to move to Healdsburg and learn how to make wine. It was already a hobby of mine. That was the biggest “Ah-Ha” moment, leaving a good corporate-paying job that was not making me happy, and packing my bags to move north, to make $10 an hour and be the happiest I had ever been, and feeling more whole because I was “crafting something” from the earth.
JB:What has been the strangest moment or incident involving wine that you have experienced in your career?
JP: Through the hundreds of wines I have now made over my career, I would have to say that the strangest moment/incident is experiencing a wine that I thought was not my best, to having it turn out to be one of my favorites.
Case in point, the 2011 Oregon Roserock Vineyard Pinot Noir. Picked it on November 4, 2011, one of the latest picks dates in the history of Oregon. Only reason we picked it that day was because Oregon’s first major storm was coming the next day, and the window would then be closed. We picked at 21.5˚ Brix, much lower than I wanted, and much less “physiologically ripe” than I had hoped for. First and only wine I have ever chaptalized. Now, nine years later, one of my all-time favorites. The fruit still sings, the wine is perfectly balanced … really mind-blowing!
JB: What is your favorite wine reference in a work of literature?
JP: I really enjoyed Wine and War. An easy read, but a fascinating history of how the French hid their wines from the invading Germans. My favorite wine film, and don’t laugh, is A Good Year, with Russell Crowe. A bit cheesy, but the storyline is pretty dreamy. I would love to find out I had an uncle in Burgundy that left me his estate!
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