Light garnet with tiny clear edges.  Not clear.  I keep telling myself it is just my imagination but I am convinced: This wine is definitely milky.  Green, pesto-encrusted toast–bruschetta, even, warm and savory, buried in dark briary mint and clean stalls.  Effusive in the nose, brilliant minerality calving off in sheets with every swirl, revealing more warm fruit in each layer.  Tall, wet, grass, marinara cooked for hours with nutmeg and balsamic with a thin ripe floral perfume popping up ever-so-briefly amongst the oak in betwixt swirls.

In the mouth, perfectly delicate on entry, dancing elegantly on slightly salty toes while throwing candy-fruit in all directions, effectively coating all corners of the mouth in an opaque curtain of cherry and apricot which has nowhere to go but cave into a visceral, glycerin late-middle for a split-second before the always-noticeable acid finally takes the lead, steering things off into a finish where the tannins gradually grow out of the supple mouthfeel into a rather stalwart burn.  To me, this thing SCREAMS old-school Anderson Valley.  Maybe that is why I like it so much.

2014 TATOMER Pinto Noir Santa Barbara County  13.5

http://www.tatomerwines.com