Brewer Clifton Sta Rita Hills Chardonnay BYOB at Captain Dave’s

Brewer Clifton Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay BYOB at Captain Dave’s Destin/Miramar Beach

Visiting The Cove, our Destin, FL vacation rental, we dined at Captain Dave’s, a favorite, a local institution, and a short walk down the beach from our house. 

Captain Dave’s On The Gulf is the oldest seafood restaurant in Destin, (FL), family owned and operated since 1968. It offers beach front views from the spacious high ceiling dining room overlooking the gulf. 

Before dinner we sat on the deck overlooking the beach to watch the sunset with a Captain Dave’s Rum Punch. 

Tonight was a replay of a previous visit to this restaurant from last fall, when we even ordered the same entrees as tonight - Nickel & Nickle Chardonnay BYOB at Captain Dave’s Destin.

We each ordered our favorite entrees - Linda the Coconut crusted shrimp …. 

… I ordered the Captain Daves signature Parmesan Crusted Mahi Mahi. 

We took BYOB this Chardonnay from Sta Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County that we just picked up at Wine World in Destin. It proved to be a huge QPR - Quality Price Ratio value for easy sipping Chardonnay. We liked it so much, we went back and picked up a couple more bottles.  

Brewer Clifton Sta Rita Hills Cellar Selection Chardonnay 2023

Winemaker Greg Brewer founded Brewer-Clifton in 1996 to produce wines that reflect the geographic, geologic and climatic uniqueness of California’s Sta. Rita Hills appellation in Santa Barbara County.

Sant Rita Hills has one of the coolest climates on the west coast, Sta. Rita Hills of Santa Barbara County, with a long growing season, making it ideal for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The unique topology where the valleys run perpendicular to the coast funnels the maritime influences through the hills to the small appellation that is filled with variations in soil, aspect and micro-climates to produce terroir ideal for those varietals. 

Greg Brewer also produces Diatom Santa Barbara County Chardonnay which we have enjoyed in the recent past, another high QPR easy sipping Chardonnay. We wrote about it in these pages in this recent blogpost - Diatom Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2023.

We visited the Brewer Clifton tasting room in the town of Los Olivos during our Santa Barbara Country wine experience back in 2023. 

Jeb Dunnuck gives their Sta Rita Hills estate Chardonnay 95 points and writes, “I've written many times, this appellation release can stand toe to toe with any Chardonnay from Santa Barbara County.”  That release was rated 94 points by James Suckling and 93 points by Wine Spectator.

This was pale golden straw colored, medium-bodied, crisp, clean and pure with bright vibrant, intense Meyer Lemon citrus, accented by notes of pear and hint of green apple fruits, with tangy acidity, and expressive mineral on and a great lingering finish. So bright and vibrant, it needs food or a cheese accompaniment such as tonight’s seafood which was an ideal pairing, thereby enhancing the enjoyment of both, food and wine. 

It was so bright and vibrant, it needs food or a cheese accompaniment such as tonight’s seafood, which was an ideal pairing, thereby enhancing the enjoyment of both, food and wine. It was great with our seafood entrees.

This release was aged nine months in 100% neutral oak barrels but any sense of oakiness is muted. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/w?5299506

https://www.bygregbrewer.com/brewer-clifton

https://www.captdavesonthegulf.com/

Diatom Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2023

Great QPR in this Diatom Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2023

Over the course of a couple evenings, we enjoyed this crisp clean un-oaked central coast Chardonnay, first with baked chicken with potatoes, sweet potatoes and onions, then with some artisan cheeses and fresh fruits. 

This is from accomplished producer/winemaker Greg Brewer, who produced his first vintage in 1996, Brewer-Clifton Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs - raised in neutral barrels with whole cluster fermentation. He also “acts out his almost deviant desire to go outside his Brewer-Clifton paradigm to explore a new muse – Syrah” produced under his Ex Post Facto label.

This moderately priced Diatom label by Brewer, comes from the Mission Mills Vineyard just outside of Los Alamos. As noted on the rear label, Diatom is named for the fossil-rich diatomaceous earth in which these vines grow. 

Brewer’s wines are showcased at his tasting room in Los Olivos, by appointment only. 

We visited and wrote about Los Olivos and the large number of tasting rooms there in our blogpost back in 2022.   

This label was wine #37 on the Wine Spectator's Top 100 wines of 2023 and #18 in the Top 100 Wines of 2025. 

This 2023 Diatom Chardonnay can be had for under $25 and provides great QPR - quality price ratio at that price point. 

Vinous writes, “This is a stunning wine for the price and for its production of around 40,000 cases.” With that level of production, it should be readily available in local wine shops as well as the big box beverage marts. 

Jeb Dunnuck writes, “This impeccably made Chardonnay should be snatched up by readers, as it competes with wines at two to three times the price, a no-brainer purchase for those who love Santa Barbara County Chardonnay. ”

Decanter wrote; “One of the region's perennial top-value Chardonnays that retains the truest sense of place.”

Linda especially loved this unoaked and fermented in steel tanks Chardonnay with its full-bodied but balanced and amazingly rich in ripe fruit. 

Wine Enthusiast wrote - “This wine made by the legendary Greg Brewer offers a very affordable taste of his mastery.”

All of this fruit is from Mission Hills outside Los Alamos in Santa Barbara County.

 

Winemaker Notes - “ Our singular focus is to present a pure and precise expression of Chardonnay. The Diatom Santa Barbara Chardonnay offers aromas of lemon, citrus blossom and wet sand with flavors of saline and white peach on the palate. A precise, balanced wine. winemaker Greg Brewer calls the wine ‘big and neutral, blurring the lines of expectation.’”

This release was rated 94 points by Jeb Dunnuck and Vinous, 93 points by Decanter and Wine Spectator who calls it a ‘Smart Buy’, and 92 points and “Editors Choice” by Wine Enthusiast.

Golden colored, medium full bodied, crisp, clean, pure, round but nicely, balanced, smooth flavors of citrus, green apple, cardamom and floral with subtle pineapple mangoes, and chalky mineral, with soft tangy acidity, on a smooth balanced finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://go.cellartracker.com/wine/4948763

https://www.bygregbrewer.com/

 

 

Tensley Santa Barbara County Shiraz 2022

Tensley Santa Barbara County Shiraz 2022

We received our wine club allocation shipment of (2024) Tensley Santa Barbara County wines. So, I pulled from the cellar an older vintage bottle of the just received label, as part of cellar inventory management, to try. 

We enjoyed this with leftover ravioli and bolognese sauce, and the remains of my veal saltimbocca from our Wine & Dinner at Bruna’s in Chicago’s Little Italy, the other evening. 

Tensley Santa Barbara County Shiraz 2022

We discovered this producer and acquired their wines, and joined their wine club, during our visit to the Santa Maria Valley Foxen Canyon Wine Trail back in 2022. We saw their vineyards and then their tasting room in downtown Los Olivos, during our Wine Experience, chronicled in this blogpost at the time, excerpted here - Tensley Santa Barbara County Wines.

Tensley Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara County Wines

During our Santa Barbara County, Santa Maria Valley Wine Experience, we drove the Foxen Canyon wine trail. On one of our stops, we were referred by one producer to check out Tensley Wines, which was near the estate we were visiting. 

We drove by the Tensley vineyards on Alisos Canyon Road, (shown left) which was closed, so we stopped in the Tensley Vineyards hospitality tasting room in downtown Los Olivos.

We first visited a central location serving as the confluence of many producers in Woodinville, Washington, during our Seattle/Woodinville Wine Experience, where over a hundred wineries have retail tasting facilities. 

The town of Los Olivos is all about winery tasting rooms with forty different producers having public retail facilities there. It is the anchor for the Santa Ynez Valley wine appellation, situated on State Road 154 just off the major Route 101, about thirty five miles north, inland, from Santa Barbara.

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 effects. 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. 

We taste a flight of their wines during our visit to the producer's hospitality tasting room downtown Los Olivos, where we were able to taste a flight of their Rhône varietals centered on their Syrahs.  

Readers of these pages know we're huge fans of Syrah as one of our favorite varietals for big fruit filled every day sipping as well as serious wine pairing with robust foods such as BBQ.

Joey Tensley launched Tensley Wines in 1998 with the goal to produce well-priced, Syrah-driven wines, by "sourcing the best fruit possible and let the unique vineyards of Santa Barbara County speak for themselves." 

The first release of Tensley totaled just 100 cases. By 2015, production had grown to 5,000 cases and included five single-vineyard Syrahs, the most in Santa Barbara County. Tensley Syrah’s 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.”

Joey’s first experience with wine took place when he was just twelve-years-old, when his soccer team toured a winery while taking part in a tournament in France. He vividly recalls the chill of the old caves and the aromas of wines fermenting in barrel. From that moment on he knew he wanted to be a winemaker. “Which pretty much made me the only kid in Bakersfield with that particular dream,” Joey says.

Joey got his start in the wine business working as a “cellar rat” for Fess Parker Winery in Santa Barbara County in 1993. Three years later, he became assistant winemaker at Babcock Vineyards. There, he came to appreciate the importance of the vineyard and the grower. 

Over time, Tensley also came to appreciate the uniqueness of Santa Barbara County as a growing region. “We’re one of the only places in the world with a mountain range that runs east-west. That gives us many different, unique micro-climates, so a Syrah grown in one place is so different from a Syrah grown in another. It’s an exciting place to make wine.”

In 1998, Joey became assistant winemaker at Beckmen Vineyards where he was also offered the chance to produce his own label. There, he developed his love for Rhône varietals and decided Tensley would produce only Rhône varietal wines, sourced solely from Santa Barbara County.

Tensley wines gained the attention of the wine press in 2001 when Matt Kramer of Wine Spectator named two of Tensley’s 2001 Syrah’s to his list of the Top Ten Wines in the World, and, Robert Parker scored all the ‘01’s in the high 90’s, calling them “serious, hand-crafted efforts.”

In 2008 Food and Wine Magazine named the Tensley 2006 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 The Wine Spectator 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

More recently Tensley received high praise and high scores from wine critics Josh Raynolds, James Laube, and Jeb Dunnuck. Dunnuck gave Tensley’s 2008 Syrah Noir 99 points and named Joey, “one of the rising superstars in California.”

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 these tasted and going forward. 

After we returned to OC, we visited the two top wine shops, Total Wines and High Time in Cosa Mesa, the top independent merchant in the area. We were surprised and delighted to find Tensley wines on the shelves in both outlets.  

Three years later, more recently, we now are delighted to find Tensley at Total Wine and Binny’s Beverage Depot, our two ‘home’ wine superstores. 

Our Tensley tasting flight in Los Olivos included: 

• Laird Vineyard Marsanne 2021
• 'All Blocks' Estate Blend 2020 
• Colson Canyon Syrah 2020, and,
• Santa Barbara County Syrah 2020 - the then current release of this just received, and tasted wine.   

Tensley Santa Barbara County Syrah 2020

Winemaker Notes: "Every year the vineyard percentages change, yet the style remains the same. In 2020 we introduced Laird Vineyard to the blend. By adding this vineyard we continue to work with sandy cool sites to add freshness and savory notes to the final blend.' 

"We add complexity and power by including all of our single vineyard Syrah sources. At the end of the day, this wine is both powerful and fresh. It beams with bright acidy and saline notes, rounding out with blue and black fruits to make it generous, juicy and easy to drink. It will age 7-10 years, but do not hesitate to open and enjoy its freshness today." 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4091582

Tonight, we tasted the 2022 release of this label. 

Tensley Wines Santa Barbara County Syrah 2022

This release was awarded 94 points and"Top Buy: America's 30 Best Syrahs," by Decanter, 92-94 points by Jeb Dunnuck, 93 points by Erin Brooks of the Wine Advocate, and 92 points by Wine Spectator.

This label is 100% Syrah sourced from five different vineyard sites across the appellation with a diversity of terroir, providing a broad, bold and complex tasting profile. 2,100 cases were made.

Deep inky purple garnet colored, full-bodied, concentrated, dense, almost intense, full round, complex rich ripe blackberry and black raspberry fruits with savory layers of black olive, black pepper, cassis, black tea and sage with full approachable tannins on a moderately acidic finish. 

RM 92

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4747493

https://tensleywines.com/

https://twitter.com/tensleywine

@tensleywine 

Tensely Santa Barbara County Shiraz 2022

Tensely Santa Barbara County Shiraz 2022

We received our wine club allocation shipment of (2024) Tensley Santa Barbara County wines. So, I pulled from the cellar an older vintage bottle of the just received label, as part of cellar inventory management, to try. 

We enjoyed this with leftover ravioli and bolognese sauce, and the remains of my veal saltimbocca from our Wine & Dinner at Bruna’s in Chicago’s Little Italy, the other evening. 

Tensely Santa Barbara County Shiraz 2022

We discovered this producer and acquired their wines, and joined their wine club, during our visit to the Santa Maria Valley Foxen Canyon Wine Trail back in 2022. We saw their vineyards and then their tasting room in downtown Los Olivos, during our Wine Experience, chronicled in this blogpost at the time, excerpted here - Tensley Santa Barbara County Wines.

Tensley Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara County Wines

During our Santa Barbara County, Santa Maria Valley Wine Experience, we drove the Foxen Canyon wine trail. On one of our stops, we were referred by one producer to check out Tensley Wines, which was near the estate we were visiting. 

We drove by the Tensley vineyards on Alisos Canyon Road, (shown left) which was closed, so we stopped in the Tensley Vineyards hospitality tasting room in downtown Los Olivos.

The town of Los Olivos is all about winery tasting rooms with forty different producers having public retail facilities there. It is the anchor for the Santa Ynez Valley wine appellation, situated on State Road 154 just off the major Route 101, about thirty five miles north, inland, from Santa Barbara.

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 effects. 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. 

We taste a flight of their wines during our visit to the producer's hospitality tasting room downtown Los Olivos, where we were able to taste a flight of their Rhône varietals centered on their Syrahs.  

Readers of these pages know we're huge fans of Syrah as one of our favorite varietals for big fruit filled every day sipping as well as serious wine pairing with robust foods such as BBQ.

Joey Tensley launched Tensley Wines in 1998 with the goal to produce well-priced, Syrah-driven wines, by "sourcing the best fruit possible and let the unique vineyards of Santa Barbara County speak for themselves." 

The first release of Tensley totaled just 100 cases. By 2015, production had grown to 5,000 cases and included five single-vineyard Syrahs, the most in Santa Barbara County. Tensley Syrah’s 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.”

Joey’s first experience with wine took place when he was just twelve-years-old, when his soccer team toured a winery while taking part in a tournament in France. He vividly recalls the chill of the old caves and the aromas of wines fermenting in barrel. From that moment on he knew he wanted to be a winemaker. “Which pretty much made me the only kid in Bakersfield with that particular dream,” Joey says.

Joey got his start in the wine business working as a “cellar rat” for Fess Parker Winery in Santa Barbara County in 1993. Three years later, he became assistant winemaker at Babcock Vineyards. There, he came to appreciate the importance of the vineyard and the grower. 

Over time, Tensley also came to appreciate the uniqueness of Santa Barbara County as a growing region. “We’re one of the only places in the world with a mountain range that runs east-west. That gives us many different, unique micro-climates, so a Syrah grown in one place is so different from a Syrah grown in another. It’s an exciting place to make wine.”

In 1998, Joey became assistant winemaker at Beckmen Vineyards where he was also offered the chance to produce his own label. There, he developed his love for Rhône varietals and decided Tensley would produce only Rhône varietal wines, sourced solely from Santa Barbara County.

Tensley wines gained the attention of the wine press in 2001 when Matt Kramer of Wine Spectator named two of Tensley’s 2001 Syrah’s to his list of the Top Ten Wines in the World, and, Robert Parker scored all the ‘01’s in the high 90’s, calling them “serious, hand-crafted efforts.”

In 2008 Food and Wine Magazine named the Tensley 2006 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 The Wine Spectator 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

More recently Tensley received high praise and high scores from wine critics Josh Raynolds, James Laube, and Jeb Dunnuck. Dunnuck gave Tensley’s 2008 Syrah Noir 99 points and named Joey, “one of the rising superstars in California.”

Tensley Santa Barbara County Syrah 2022

This release was awarded 94 points and"Top Buy: America's 30 Best Syrahs," by Decanter, 92-94 points by Jeb Dunnuck, 93 points by Erin Brooks of the Wine Advocate, and 92 points by Wine Spectator. 

Winemaker Notes: "Every year the vineyard percentages change, yet the style remains the same. In 2020 we introduced Laird Vineyard to the blend. By adding this vineyard we continue to work with sandy cool sites to add freshness and savory notes to the final blend.' 

"We add complexity and power by including all of our single vineyard Syrah sources. At the end of the day, this wine is both powerful and fresh. It beams with bright acidy and saline notes, rounding out with blue and black fruits to make it generous, juicy and easy to drink. It will age 7-10 years, but do not hesitate to open and enjoy its freshness today." 

This label is sourced from five vineyard sites. 2100 cases were produced

This is the classic big bold Syrah style that we love. Deep dark inky purple colored, full bodied, rich, round, concentrated black currant fruits with notes of anise, menthol, clove spice and wet earth with firm tannins and tangy acidity on the lingering finish. 

RM 93 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4140592

https://tensleywines.com/

https://twitter.com/tensleywine

@tensleywine 

Emeril’s Coastal Restaurant Miramar Beach

Emeril’s Coastal Restaurant Miramar Beach 

Vacationing with Linda’s friends Pat R and Marylou at The Cove, our vacation rental in Destin (FL), we dined at iconic chef Emeril Lagasse’s Emeril’s Coastal Restaurant at the chic stylish Grand Boulevard in adjacent Miramar Beach. 

Our table was in the dining room next to the trendy high-top tables that align the bar area.

For the appetizer course we ordered the Roasted Oysters with garlic, butter, parmesan and a baguette, New Orleans BBQ Shrimp and biscuit, and the Coastal Crabcake. 

We tasted two wines from Emeril’s Wine Cellar (shown below) wine list. 

For a wine accompaniment with the starter course we tasted Emeril’s Private Label Chardonnay. 

Emeril’s Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 2018

As the labels states this special private label bottling is produced by Jim Clendenon and the Au Bon Climat vineyards and winery in Santa Barbara County.

This was delightful and offered great QPR - Quality Price Ratio, as one would expect if the chef puts his name on the label. 

Light straw colored, medium bodied, this was full and round with tones of peach and passion fruit with nice balance and acidity on the refreshing finish. 

For dinner entrees, we order the two daily Fresh Catch specials (shown below), grilled Grouper with creole meuniere, and Crispy Skin on Salmon with Creole cream and Parmesan Risotto.

For a wine accompaniment with the main course, we ordered from the cellar wine list the popular well known Frank Family Napa Chardonnay. 

Frank Family Vineyards Napa Valley Carneros Chardonnay 2022

The Frank Family Vineyards estate up in Calistoga is housed in an 1884 stone cellar—the third-oldest building in Napa Valley.  They did a massive renovation of the original historic Hans Kornell Champagne Cellars and the 19th-century Larkmead before that. The site is one of the most beautiful and interesting in Napa Valley. Ironically, it is one of the first wineries we visited during our very first Napa Valley wine visit back in the seventies! 

The winery and tasting room were totally reimagined a few years ago for their 25th anniversary. The Hollywood Room is a tribute to founder Rich Frank, past president of Disney Corporation and wife Leslie’s career as an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist and Hollywood reporter. On display are the couple’s two Emmys. Frank is known as one of the guys who green-lit Aladdin and The Lion King, but it’s Frank’s penchant for hospitality, not his Hollywood credential that is behind Frank Family Vineyards being named “Best Napa Winery” eight years running by Bay Area A-List

The fruit for this Carneros Chardonnay release is from the Carneros sub-appellation in south western Napa Valley. sourced from is the winery's estate Lewis Vineyard, with additions from neighboring Beckstoffer Vineyards in the Napa-Carneros area and Sangiacomo Vineyards from the Sonoma-Carneros area.

Winemakers notes - This wine is a testament to the Carneros region, brimming with Meyer lemon, yellow apple, and salted butterscotch notes. Concentrated layers of spices and creamy vanilla meld with well-integrated oak and elegant waves of fresh acidity on the palate.

Producer’s Notes - A bright and balanced wine with vibrant aromatics of baked apple, white nectarine, and toasted oak. A lively entry of tropical fruit, and citrus expands with notes of rich lemon curd and brioche bread pudding. Ample yet refined, this unmistakably Carneros wine finished with a refreshing wave of acidity.

This wine is perfumed in brioche and baked apple, with seasonings of nutmeg and vanilla. It opens in a rich, full-bodied concentration of citrus and white peach and evolves on the palate to show structure and depth. Bright acidity lifts hints of toasted oak, maintaining a fresh and plush finish.

https://shop.frankfamilyvineyards.com/product/2022-Carneros-Chardonnay

https://www.frankfamilyvineyards.com/

We closed out the evening with two delectable desserts - the Crème Brûlée and the unique Emeril signature dish, the oddly named Olive Oil Cake for the distinctive recipe and method of preparation. We suggested this should be named Emeril’s Special or Secret Cake.  

We ordered the Crème Brûlée and at the urging and advise of our server, we tried the Emeril’s Olive Oil cake, who described its heritage distinct recipe and preparation, implying that our other Crème Brûlée was standard and widely available. In the end, the Crème Brûlée was equally distinctive and delicious. 

Because I did not order a dessert, expecting to sample shares of the other selections, I was served a special surprise, held for special occasions and diner’s celebrations - an extraordinarily unique sparkling Roman candle with cotton candy! 

Everything was delightful, delectable, delicious, all served with attentive, knowledgeable and engaging staff. Emeril’s is a treat to be enjoyed when visiting the Florida panhandle Emerald Coast. 

Stolpman Roussanne Rhône Varietal w/ vodka cream pasta

Stolpman Roussanne Rhône Varietal w/ vodka cream pasta

We were invited to son Alec’s and D-in-law Vivianna’s for dinner with them and the grandkids. Alec prepared a delicious rigatoni pasta with Italian sausage and broccoli in a vodka cream sauce. 

Linda prepared a tomato caprese salad with a delicious chocolate raspberry balsamic purchased at last week’s Farmers’ Market at Naperville 5th Avenue Station. 

I took from our cellar a Southern Rhône Rousanne varietal wine from Santa Barbara County. This proved to be not only a perfect pairing, which thereby amplified the enjoyment of both the food and the wine, but commemorated our trip together to the region during our Southern Rhône Provence tour in 2019 as chronicled in these posts - 

Four days in Provence - Aix - Meyrargues

A visit to Château La Nerthe - 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/08/a-visit-to-chateau-la-nerthe.html

We also visited the estate of Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe as the other highlight of our visit to the appellations Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

This is from Ballard Canyon which sits in the greater Santa Ynez Valley AVA which covers a thirty mile east-west corridor, running east from the town of Lompoc to Los Olivos and Santa Ynez on the east. It covers 77,000 acres of winegrapes with more than 60 different wine varieties. 

We visited the Santa Ynez Valley during our Santa Barbara County Wine Experience back in 2022 and discovered the plethora of Rhone varietal based wines including many Syrah, one of our regular favorites.

Over the years the sub-appellations evolved and were granted AVA (American Viticultural Area) status with Santa Rita Hills to the west and Happy Canyon to the east. In the center is Ballard Canyon which was recognized as a unique winegrowing area and granted its own AVA in 2013.

Ballard Canyon became Santa Barbara County’s fifth official American viticultural area (AVA) joiningthe existing AVAs of the region including Santa Ynez Valley, Sta. Rita Hills, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria Valley and the broader Santa Barbara County.

Ballard Canyon, covers just 7,700 acres, or only 10% of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA, and has a unique north-south orientation of the canyon provides a unique weather pattern of wind, fog, and maritime influence, giving it its own sense of a specific place or with its soil and elevation, terroir.

Ballard Canyon has a history of viticulture back to the earlier 1970’s but grew and gained recognition in an expansion of planting boom in the 90’s, with new grower producers such as Stolpman and Beckmen, Harrison, Larner, and Saarloos families planted vineyards, followed by Jonata and Tierra Alta.

While land to the west became increasingly devoted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with the publication of the STA Rita Hills AVA, Ballard Canyon vineyards focused on Rhône varietals and primarily Syrah. 

Ballard Canyon became Santa Barbara County’s fifth official American viticultural area (AVA) joiningthe existing AVAs of the region including Santa Ynez Valley, Sta. Rita Hills, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria Valley and the broader Santa Barbara County.

Ballard Canyon, encompassing 7,800, is the second AVA in the Santa Ynez Valley along with Sta. Rita Hills. The region is an integral part of the diversity within the Central Coast and Santa Barbara County designations. After experimenting with many different varietals, the growers and producers of Ballard Canyon settled on Syrah as the best-suited varietal throughout Ballard Canyon. Over half of the AVA’s planted acreage is Syrah and an additional 30% of acres are planted to other Rhone varietals including Grenache, Viognier, and Roussanne.

Of the total 458 acres planted to red wine grapes. Rhone Varietals predominate with 76%, followed by Bordeaux: 14%, Italian: 8%, and other California ‘Heritage’ 2%. 

Syrah is the predominant red varietal with 274 Acres followed by another Rhône varietals mostly Grenache. Other plants include smaller amounts of Bordeaux grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot, as well as small amounts of Italian varietals Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. 

Of the white wine grapes planted Rhone Varietals such as Roussanne predominate with 57%, followed by Bordeaux  (40%), primarily Sauvignon Blanc, and others lead by Viognier.

Stolpman Santa Barbara County Ballard Canyon Estate Bottled Roussanne 2019

This unique California Rhône white is produced and marketing directly as an estate wine sourced from their own vineyard under their own branding. Grapes from the vineyard are also produced separately under branding of a personal project of winemaker Jeremy Weintraub, whose day job is  since 2013 is overseeing Adelaida Cellars, a prominent estate in Paso Robles.  

Jeremy’s winemaking education includes earning a Master’s in Viticulture & Enology from UC Davis, and, interning throughout the world’s best wine regions. Before his work with Adelaida, Jeremy was the winemaker at Seavey, a somewhat under-rated Cabernet producer in Napa Valley. Previously, Jeremy traveled the world, working harvests in Tuscany, Central Otago, Martinborough, and Long Island. 

Weintraub produces a small portfolio of limited production wines with fruit sourced from some of California's most renowned sites including a 100% Roussanne varietal is from the Stolpman Vineyard in Ballard Canyon in Santa Barbara County. 

This is the Stolpman branding crafted by family owned and operated Stolpman Vineyards sourced from their estate of 220-acres planted to 152 acres of south-facing grapes, an organic vegetable garden, and 5 acres of olives. This Roussanne Rhône varietal comprises 15.3 acres of the total plantings.

The Stolpman estate was established 20 years ago by Founding Partner, Tom Stolpman, when he discovered what we believe to be one of the greatest viticultural sites on earth, hidden in the hills of California’s Central Coast, on a rare Limestone outcropping & unobstructed from the Pacific Ocean wind, this unique land is naturally suited to grow Syrah and Roussanne grapes. 

The Stolpman family say they are blessed to farm wine grapes from their Ballard Canyon estate due to what they cite are five distinguishing characteristics that set their vineyard apart, even from other Ballard Canyon sites: 

“White Rock - Active, youthful 2 million year-old Limestone provides balancing acidity to all of our wines while the thin layer of dense clay topsoil above allows retention of moisture. Because of this one-two combo, we can withhold irrigation from the roots, forcing them to dig deep into the white rock and absorb all that terroir!’ The limestone that runs deep and lends acidity to the berries with clay-rich topsoil that retains moisture efficiently. 

“Tunnel of Love - Daily mistrals originate from the cold Arctic flow of Pacific Ocean pushing through our fully-exposed hillsides. The Mojave far to our east sucks up the cold air as its desert heat rises – the vacuum creates a perennial wind tunnel through Ballard Canyon rivaling the Northern Rhone in force and relentlessness. Our hearty vines continue to photosynthesize in the wind but the fluttering leaves don’t suck for water. Without dilution, flavor concentration intensifies. The wind also knocks down fungal pressure, giving the winery team pristinely clean fruit.’

“Nightly Chill - Unsheltered from the Pacific, as soon as night falls, temperatures drop an average of 40 degrees Fahrenheit during the growing season. Not only does the cold nightly rejuvenation help hold acidity through our long growing season, but we also nocturnally harvest to lock in the taut freshness from the crisp conditions. The diurnal shift pendulum swings vastly, with drops of up to 40 degrees between daytime and nighttime. Chilly temperatures at night allow the grapes to maintain the hard-earned acidity imparted by the limestone soils.’

“Rain - For better or worse, it seldom rains during the growing season. Combined with our dedication to dry farming - concentrated, undiluted grapes result. We only pray for healthy winter rains during dormancy so the vines wake up sensing enough moisture to get through the summer. The vines can be dry-farmed due to the clay, which during the dry summer season, results in vines that struggle to dig deep for the water table and produce concentrated fruit.”

They say the largest impact of the annual dry stretch is the continuation of legacy native root-stock that has thus far survived the scourge of  the root-louse Phyllloxera, which doesn’t like to be parched. They have managed so far to maintain their own-rooting vulnerable Vinifera rather than grafting onto root-stock. Today, 60% of the vines at Stolpman are own-rooted.

Finally, “Tropical Tan - Located at 34.6 degrees latitude, our equatorial solar rays help to ripen the grapes through the long, cool growing season. The sunlight stays strong, seeing us through our Autumn harvest, good ‘ol California sunshine ripens the grapes to their “fullest potential” We rely on it to paint our Roussanne a “Rouss” shade of gold.”

Roussanne can get a bad rap as a varietal for producing singular waxy and weighted wines, hence its traditional use as a blending grape in France’s Rhône Valley. 

Stolpman use new oak only to ‘frame Roussanne’s viscosity’ while all their other wines see only used wood.  

Winemaker notes - “The 2019 Roussanne offers a nose of white peach, baked apple, and toasted spice mix. The mouth is medium-bodied with plenty of acid to keep the wine fresh and structured well through the finish.”

Jen Dunnuck awarded Jeremy’s label release 95 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 94 points, and Wine Enthusiast 91 points. 

This was big enough to stand up to flavorful pasta and sausage with vodka cream sauce, which one might typically pair with a Red Barolo or Montepulciano.  This was a perfect pairing whic as I often write in these pages, amplifies the enjoyment of the wine and the food. 

An extraordinary, unique wine, bold bordering on obtuse, that bursts with expressive vibrant flavor from the beginning - golden colored, medium to full bodied, a firm edge structured stone fruit, peach and apple accented by spice, floral citrus, almond nut, and mineral with bright acidity on the expressive vibrant long finish. 

RM 91 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3896315

https://www.stolpmanvineyards.com/

Tensley Colson Canyon Syrah 2021

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 discovered Tensley Santa Barbara County Wines during that Santa Barbara County, Santa Maria Valley Wine Experience while driving the Foxen Canyon wine trail. One of the producer's we visited recommended we check out Tensley Wines, which was near that estate we were visiting. 

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.  

Colson Canyon Vineyard | Santa Ynez Mountains

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.

Tensley and his wife Jennifer, purchased the Colson Canyon property about five years ago, ensuring that they would always be able to tap the most distinctive site. 

 

Today, Tensley produces 3,300 cases a year. Taking advantage of the numerous micro-climates in the Santa Barbara mountain ranges, Joey also produces a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in areas closer to the ocean, while growing his Rhone varietals--Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier--further inland.  

 

Winemaker Notes: "Everything we farm in house is something very special to us. This site is one of the most unique and special places in the world of wine. High (1400 elevation) in the hills north of the Santa Maria Valley with some of the most iron-laced soils I have seen in Santa Barbara County."

Perched high up at an elevation of 1,400 feet, from a site located in the hills above Los Olivos, the Colson Canyon Vineyard benefits from the combination of warm days and cool nights that produce dense, fruit-forward wines with opulent jamminess. The site covers 115 acres but has only 16 acres of grapes because the elevation and rugged terrain make so much of the site untamable. Tensley believes that only three more acres have the potential to be planted.

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

Winemaker notes for this 2021 Colson Canyon label: "Coming from one of the coolest vintage in a decade the wine has a serious freshness. With that said the extremely low yields of 1.7 ton per acre the texture is what the wine is all about. When you put your nose in the glass think of cracked pepper, black currant and raspberry with a touch of vanilla on the finish. The finish will last a long time from the high level of acid and tannin. Drink now, but probably best to wait a few years and for those who like aged wines don’t touch for 15-20 years!"

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. 

 

This might benefit from a few years further aging to settle a bit.

 

RM 94 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4404852
 

Earlier reviews of this label:

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2023/01/family-celebration-dinner-smoked-ribs.html

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

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4090797

https://twitter.com/tensleywine

https://tensleywines.com/ 

@tensleywine