Tensley Colson Canyon Syrah 2021 with BBQ Ribs
Linda grilled BBQ ribs with baked potatoes and grilled corn and peppers. I pulled from the cellar one of our favorite labels for such a food wine pairing and one of the currently best drinking wines our cellar.
We discovered this producer and label and acquired earlier vintages of this and several other Tensley Santa Barbara County Wines, that I wrote about here, and replay below, during our Santa Barbara County Wine Experience. This was the standout of that tasting and best represents the style that we love.
We drove by the Tensley vineyards on Alisos Canyon Road, (shown left) which was closed, so we stopped in the Tensley tasting room in downtown Los Olivos (below).
I was not aware of this brand prior to this trip. It was a top discovery and revelation and may certainly be one of our go-to boutique labels going forward. We joined their wine club to obtain a supply of their labels from those tasted and going forward.
As I have written in earlier posts, Tensley was one of the great surprises of our Santa Barbara County, Santa Maria Valley wine experience was the revelation of Syrah
being one of the lead varietals in the area.
We were expecting to see
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which are predominant taking advantage of the
cool climate being close to the coastal maritime eftects. The cool
coastal breezes run up the valleys of the mountains that run
perpendicular to the coast.
We were delighted to find several producers featuring or even specializing in Syrah, Tensley included. At the Tensley tasting room, we were able to taste a flight of their Rhône varietals centered on their Syrahs.
Since joining their wineclub, we have acquired a half dozen labels from this producer, but this single vineyard designated label remains our favorite. Sourced from Colson Canyon Vineyard, high up in the Santa Ynez Mountains north of Los Olivos, it has been providing exceptional Syrah fruit to Joey Tensley since 2000. It is this fruit that helped Tensley become the one of most sought after Syrah's on the coast with consistent high ratings, one vintage flirting with Robert Parker perfection at 99 points.
Joey Tensley launched Tensley Wines in 1998, producing 100 cases, while serving as the assistant
winemaker at Beckmen Vineyards, where he was given space to launch his
own label.
Three years later, in 2001, he relocated to
Buellton, CA to open his own winery, producing 750 cases of wines that
immediately appeared on some of the country's top wine lists. That same
year, Matt Kramer added two of Tensley's 2001 Syrah wines to the Wine
Spectator's Top Ten Wines in the World list. followed by 90-95 point
scores from Robert Parker for Tensley's 2001-2004 vintages.
Tensley released his first vineyard-designate Syrah from Colson Canyon in 2001 and the wine press took notice. That year Matt Kramer of the Wine Spectator named two of Tensley’s 2001 Syrah’s to his list of the Top Ten Wines in the World. Robert Parker, Jr. scored all the ‘01’s in the high 90’s, calling them “serious, hand-crafted efforts.”
By 2008, Food and Wine Magazine named the Colson Canyon Syrah “Top Syrah in America Over $20.” Two years later, Robert Parker gave the 2008 Anniversary Series Colson Canyon Syrah 99 points, and Wine Spectator Magazine named the 2008 Colson Canyon Syrah "#17 of its Top 100 Wines in the World". The 2007 Colson Canyon Syrah was ranked #22 the year before. Since then, the string of high scores has been consistent.
Even though we received this label as part of our wineclub allocation shipment directly from the producer, we
enjoy this particular label so much we arranged to pickup several
bottles from big box wine merchant super store Total Wine during a
recent trip to Indianapolis. This wine is not available in our
marketplace as they have no distribution in our state of Illinois.
Tensley Colson Canyon Vineyard Santa Ynez Mountains Santa Barbara County Syrah 2021
https://tensleywines.com/product/2021-colson-canyon-syrah/
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate writes, "This hedonistic Syrah could use another 5+ years in bottle to unwind and will be long-lived in the cellar. Best After 2024."
Despite guidance to wait at least five years before diving into this full throttle Syrah, we were eager to try it and we weren't disappointed.
This release was awarded 97 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate who called it "a perfumed powerhouse!", 94-96 by Vinous, and 93-95+ by Jeb Dunnuck. Vinous says, "The 2021 Syrah Colson Canyon Vineyard is one of the highlights among the 2021s I tasted from Joey Tensley."
Ruby and inky purple colored, full-bodied, dense, powerful, ripe, concentrated black and blue fruits, with accented by notes of menthol, bitter dark chocolate, tar, black pepper and hints of vanilla, floral and lavender, with full tannins and bright vibrant acidity on a long perfumed finish.Earlier, last fall I wrote about the previous vintage of this label: "Dark inky purple colored, full bodied, thick concentrated unctuous juicy black and blue fruits with layers of cassis and chocolate nuances with notes of oak, leather and tobacco on a tongue coating lingering finish."
RM 94 Points
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2022/10/tensley-colson-canyon-vineyard-syrah.html
@tensleywine
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