Tongue Dancer Reviews: 2017 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

 Tongue Dancer 2017 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($49) What a pretty, lithe, fresh wine! On the nose there are notes of cinnamon, thyme, and red fruit. It's silky and fresh on the palate, not shy on flavor, with red currant, cherry, blueberry, coriander and white pepper spice. The oak is beautifully integrated, and it's very drinkable right now. It should be great over the next 5-7 years. Only 328 cases produced. (93 Points)

- Tim Teichgraeber

 

Review: Tongue Dancer 2017 'Pinot de Ville' Pinot Noir Putnam Vineyard Sonoma Coast ($65)

Let me just start out by saying this is a really interesting, dynamic wine. It comes from the Sonoma Coast AVA, which is quite a broad AVA. Parts of that AVA are super-cool, parts are a good bit warmer. The Putnam Vineyard in particular is located near Annapolis, which is only a few miles from the Pacific Coast. One expects Pinot Noir from this area to be a bit wiry and lighter in color. When you pour this wine into the glass, it's surprisingly dark, probably because of the small cluster Dijon clone grapes (clone 777 and 155) that make up most of the blend. These are clones of Pinot Noir that will give a wine intense saturation of color. Then when you taste the wine you really get an impression of the cool climate. It has mostly red fruit flavors: plum, raspberry and wild strawberry come to mind, and there's a decidedly spicy note on the finish, which might well be from some stem inclusion in the fermentation, or which also might be a product of the cool climate. At 14.2% alcohol, it's neither bombastic, nor is it sparse. What it is, is a great example of a complex, pleasure-delivering Pinot Noir from a very cool region. That's a challenging assignment, and I'll give this wine a solid A. (94 Points)

Review: Tongue Dancer 2017 Bacigalupi Vineyard Chardonnay Russian River Valley ($50)

Wow! This is one exotic, voluptuous Sonoma Chardonnay, yet it some how manages to retain

terrific acidity and it isn't bogged down in too much new oak. It impresses from the get-go with rich nectarine, apricot and tarragon notes on the nose, but the impression on the palate is even more dazzling. It shows tremendous concentration of flavor and creamy richness with sweet cantaloupe, mango, and orange notes with hints of spicy ginger and white pepper notes and rich hazelnut and butterscotch flavors. This Chardonnay radiates class, and it's absolutely delicious. (94 Points)

Tongue Dancer New Releases: and 2016 Russian River Valley Chardonnay

Tongue Dancer 2016 'Pinot de Ville' Pinot Noir Putnam Vineyard Sonoma Coast ($65)
This new release from winemaker James MacPhail is deeply colored and powerful with generous boysenberry and wild strawberry fruit notes accented with hints of vanilla and baking spices. As much as it is a rather powerful Pinot, it also has a good bit of tangy acidity that really lingers on the palate and keeps it lively and fresh. Only 95 cases made. (93 Points)

Tongue Dancer 2016 Chardonnay Bacigalupi Vineyard Russian River Valley ($50) Big, brassy, juicy and just a little bit wild, this full-bodied Chardonnay has savory cardamom, tarragon, lemon and apricot aromas. In the mouth it's expansive and unctuous, but has a nice thread of acid running through the ultra-long finish. Very impressive Chardonnay. (95 Points)
 

 - Tim Teichgraeber

Tongue Dancer: Pinot de Ville Review

Tongue Dancer Pinot de Ville 2014 Putnam Vineyard Pinot Noir Sonoma County ($XX) Pinot de Ville is a new project from winemaker James MacPhail (of the eponymous MacPhail brand), whom I hold in very high regard. MacPhail's wines do lean toward a ripe, bold style of Pinot Noir but they tend to be tidy and complex. This one very much follows suit, with coriander spice and red fruit on the nose and very ripe red currant, raspberry and brown sugar flavors and a spicy finish. It's fairly high in alcohol at around 14.5%, but if you drink it at cellar temperature, it carries it reasonably well. I can't say I care for the 'Tongue Dancer' brand name, but the label is pretty sleek and a few friends remarked that they liked it before the wine was opened. (92 Points)