The Data

Country   USA

Appellation   Sonoma Coast

Varietal   Pinot Noir

Retail Price   $59

ABV   14.3%

Score   4.5 Stars/95 points

In the Glass

Brilliant, deep ruby color.

The aromatics are very intense offering scents of black cherry, five spice, and black pepper with supporting notes of black tea, red sour cherry, and blackberry.

The palate echoes the nose delivering a black and red fruits-driven core with flavors of black fruits, clove, leather, mineral, and oak. The finish is long and lingering with supple tannins.

Medium to full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a meaty texture.

Cool Factor

Vintage after vintage Tongue Dancer never fails to impress as their Pinots are ultra balanced and full of flavor and personality making it very cool.

Value Grade

Have you heard that Pinot Noir is expensive? Sure you have. The Tongue Dancer Wines have proven their worth being stylish and complex, as well as being ultra rare (just 50 cases made).

Analysis

The second vintage of "The Sly One" is another winner and it seems to set the style for this wine going forward. The fruit for this 2018 vintage was sourced from Van der Kamp Vineyards on Sonoma Mountain and Putnam Vineyard in Sonoma County. The 2018 The Sly One is much like the 2017 with the notable difference of barrel aging — the 2017 was in wood about a year longer. The Sly One follows a winemaking regimen that echoes the methods used for Tongue Dancer's now famous "Pinot de Ville." Hand-picked fruit is then hand-sorted, given a five-day pre-fermentation cold maceration, native yeast fermentation, daily puchdowns, and ultimately 16 months in French oak. In our view the difference maker between the Pinot de Ville and The Sly One is the Sonoma Mountain fruit in the blend. The Sly One shows a bit more acidity (with a lower pH) and is meaty and a bit less juicy than the Pinot de Ville. They are both great Pinots with a little something different to say — we like that.

How to Enjoy

This wine really needs nothing but a glass but the rich texture and bright acidity would love to pair with a grilled beef tenderloin, grilled leg of lamb, or perfectly cured Roman charcuterie. Be sure to decant this wine to release all of its aromatics and flavors.