The Data

Country   USA

Appellation   Russian River Valley

Varietal   Chardonnay

Retail Price   $59

ABV   13.7%

Score   4.5 Stars/95 points

In the Glass

Brilliant, medium golden color.

The aromatics are intense, offering scents of pear, white peach, and citrus zest with supporting notes of kumquat, lemon grass, and honeysuckle.

The palate echoes the nose delivering a ripe orchard fruits-driven core with flavors of lemon curd, apricot stone, slate, oak, and quince. The finish is long and lingering.

Medium to full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a creamy but vibrant texture.

Cool Factor

Tongue Dancer Wines make Chardonnay cool — and that's a challenge! This single vineyard wine has quickly become an annual favorite at BevX.

Value Grade

Handmade Chardonnay from Russian River crafted in limited quantities is never to be found in the bargain aisle but we find this wine to be irresistible. It's a limited production so get yours fast.

Analysis

We are very pleased to see the return of the Tongue Dancer Wines Pratt Vine Hill Chardonnay now in its third release. This wine impressed in its first release and it continues on this track. There is clearly something special about this vineyard and the fruit it creates. This site was a thriving vineyard in the late nineteenth century until Prohibition. In the 1980s work was done to return this land to growing great wine varietals. Three, great Chardonnay clones are grown here, Mt Eden, Robert Young, and FPS 70 (Dijon). The blend of these clones results in a wine with great complexity and depth. The grapes were hand-picked, and whole-cluster pressed straight to barrel. It's 100% barrel-fermented and aged in French oak for 14 months (25% new) sur lie (on the lees giving it great texture and depth). Finally, it’s bottled unfined and lightly filtered in December 2023

How to Enjoy

Serve chilled but not too cold as this will mute the aromatics and flavors. Allow it to breathe for at least 30 minutes. This wine has a big future and if you have the patience to cellar this wine for five to 10 years you will be rewarded.