The Data

Country   USA

Appellation   Sonoma Coast

Varietal   Pinot Noir

Retail Price   $55

ABV   14.5%

Score   5 Stars/97 points

In the Glass

Brilliant, medium/deep ruby color.

The aromatics are intense, offering scents of black cherry, forest floor, and baking spices with supporting notes of bramble, clay, and cinnamon pastry.

The palate confirms the nose delivering a red and black fruits-driven core with flavors of red cherry, elderberry, pomegranate, boysenberry jam, and hints of tamarind. The finish is long and lingering with firm yet well-integrated tannins.

Medium to full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a supple 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 them very cool.

Value Grade

The Tongue Dancer Wines have proven their worth, being stylish and complex, as well as being exceptionally limited and rare.

Analysis

This is the 12th vintage of Tongue Dancer Wines’ Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, and as always, it’s an impressive glass of Pinot Noir and our favorite since the fantastic 2020 vintage. We have reviewed every vintage since 2015, and while each wine is unique and always an expression of the vintage, each respective wine has scored 94 points or better. How’s that for consistency? In 2023, as in 2021 and 2022, most of the fruit was sourced from the Putnam Vineyard on the West Sonoma Coast, with a small amount of fruit also coming from the Notre Vue Vineyard in Chalk Hill. The berries were gently de-stemmed and not crushed. It was fermented in small, open-top fermenters, with the cap punched down by hand three times a day. Post-fermentation, the wine was aged in French oak (20% new) on its lees for a period of 14 months. It was bottled unfined and lightly filtered on December 1, 2024. We love this wine and can easily envision the scores rising with a bit of cellaring.

How to Enjoy

This wine needs nothing but a glass, but its rich texture and bright acidity would pair perfectly with a grilled beef tenderloin or grilled leg of lamb.