2018 Tensley Syrah Colson Canyon Santa Barbara 750 ml

Joey Tensley has pulled in more 94- to 99-point scores from Robert Parker than any other American Syrah-maker. But two-plus decades ago he was a Bakersfield farm boy who took a daring plunge into winemaking. In 1997, the year before he launched his label, Joey first laid eyes on the Colson Canyon vineyard, which was freshly planted to vine. He became the founder’s first client, and it didn’t take him long to recognize Colson Canyon for the superb site that it is. 

With the 2018 Colson Canyon Syrah, Tensley has produced a wine that might just be his best ever from the site, and it’s easy to see why critic Jeb Dunnuck called it “magical” in his 96-98-point review. This wine grabs hold of you and leaves you wondering whether you’re drinking a California cult red or the best of the Northern Rhône. It’s a brooding, dark, black-purple in color, with aromas of smoked meat, stewed blackberries, blueberries, dried herbs, clove, cracked pepper, and toasted vanilla. Highly concentrated with firm, fine tannins and a palate of fresh blackberry, black plum, and a myriad of spices and smoke, this wine boasts a massive finish that also manages exquisite balance.

This red can compete with the best wines in the world (and in your cellar) at just $40. We have no doubt that if a spicy, concentrated, and complex red boasting this kind of pedigree and praise bore the words “Napa Cabernet” on the label, it would cost $200, which is why our Tensley loyalists, our Northern Rhône collectors, and our savvy fans of deep and dark reds are in luck. We recommend clearing some serious space. 

In 2001, Joey released his first vineyard-designate Syrah from Colson Canyon. Fifteen years later, he and his wife Jennifer purchased the vineyard, basically ensuring that the winemaker would always be able to tap his most distinctive site.  

The Colson Canyon property is 115 acres, but only sixteen produce grapes—the elevation and rugged terrain make the rest all but untamable, and Joey believes that only three more acres have the potential to be planted. But forbidding sites can also be the most fortunate, and Colson Canyon proves it year in and year out.

The quality of these grapes has skyrocketed since the Tensleys took over at Colson Canyon, thinning the canopy, monitoring moisture, and dropping some fruit when they need to. Now, the site lets Joey’s talent shine like no other. Just as Heitz Cellars had Bella Oaks and Colgin has Tychson Hill, Joey Tensley has Colson Canyon. It’s a definitive vineyard site that provides incomparable raw materials to one of California’s red wine masters, and this vintage might just capture that magic the way no other bottling has. For this price-to-quality ratio, it’s tough to match anywhere in the world. Don’t miss it.