Beverage of the Week (BOW)
Tongue Dancer Wines Foxtrot Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2023
Product Story
This is the third vintage of Tongue Dancer Wines’ (TDW) Foxtrot and the third on the trot from the Russian River Valley. This wine is designed to be a fun, fruit-forward Pinot but don’t let that fool you, it has a serious side too. The grapes are sourced from a single vineyard, the Notre Vue Vineyard in the Chalk Hill sub-AVA. Grapes have been grown on this property since 1869 — if the vines could talk… This wine features two Pinot Noir Clones, Dijon 115 and Pommard 4. The grapes were hand-picked on the cool morning of August 19th and gently de-stemmed — not crushed. Daily punchdowns and cool fermenting temperatures insured depth and a fruit-forward wine. The wine spent 11 months on the lees in French oak — 20% new oak. It was bottled unfined and lightly filtered in August of 2024. The resulting wine is truly delicious, fun to drink, and a super value as well.
Brand Story
Tongue Dancer Wines is the creation of James and Kerry MacPhail. If you are a California Pinot Noir lover, you likely know James' previous work with MacPhail Family Wines. James knows how to make amazing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and James knows a lot of people who grow spectacular Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. We have been reviewing the wines from Tongue Dancer for the better part of a decade and have never seen a Tongue Dancer Wine fail to earn Four-Stars or better. Tongue Dancer constantly innovates, releasing new wines yearly while never missing a beat. Once, they surprised us by releasing a great, dry cider! This is a winery to watch. The wines are always in short supply, so be swift. Visit their website and join their mailing list to get direct access to their wines.
Tasting Note
Brilliant, deep ruby color. The aromatics are intense, offering scents of blackberry, dried herbs, and graphite with supporting notes of black tea, forest floor, hibiscus flower, and black currant. The palate echoes the nose delivering a red and black fruits-driven core with flavors of black plum, boysenberry, five spice, tart cherry, and oak. The finish is long and lingering with chewy tannins. Full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a supple texture.
How to Serve
This Pinot is terrific as a solo performer but it shines with food. Grilled steaks or braised beef are good pairings as is moussaka. Open and decant 30 minutes before drinking.
Price: $ 49
BevX Review: http://bevx.com/wine-detail/?id=4486
