2019 Tensley Syrah Colson Canyon Vineyard Santa Barbara County

JD94-96 A more elegant, perfumed, floral wine from this site, the 2019 Syrah Colson Canyon offers Côte Rôtie-like black raspberry, violets, spring flowers, and gamey, meat-driven aromatics. Medium to full-bodied and beautifully textured, with a kiss of background oak, it’s going to show nicely right out of the gate yet also have two decades of longevity.
The 2018s from Tensley are some of the finest wines he’s made. They have the classic, opulent style he’s known for paired with more freshness, purity, and acidity. His wines age beautifully, but my money is on his 2018s evolving even longer. The 2019s are close in style, yet have even fresher, more elegant profiles. These wines will put on weight over the course of their élevage, and this is certainly another brilliant vintage. If you take prices into account, dollar for dollar, these are some of the greatest wines out there.

In 1998 Joey Tensley launched Tensley Wines with one hundred cases and one single goal – to start a well-priced, Syrah-driven brand that let the unique vineyards of Santa Barbara County speak for themselves.
Today, Tensley is a 5,000 case-a-year business with Syrah’s that have made the Wine Spectator’s Top 100, scored 99 points with Robert Parker, and won Food and Wine Magazine’s award for the “Top Syrah in America over $20.”