Tongue Dancer Wines Foxtrot Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2023

The Data

Country USA

Appellation Russian River Valley

Varietal Pinot Noir

Retail Price $49

ABV 14.2%

Score 4.5 Stars/95 points

In the Glass

Appearance

Brilliant, deep ruby color.

Aromatics

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.

Flavor

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.

Intensity & Texture

Full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a supple texture.

Cool Factor

We have yet to find a Tongue Dancer Wines Pinot Noir that was not the pinnacle of cool. Their Foxtrot label delivers again with excellent fruit and superb winemaking.

Value Grade

Top-shelf Pinot Noir made with a small production selling at under $50 is a great value in today's wine market. Get this one while it lasts.

Analysis

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.

How to Enjoy

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.