Tensley Wines Tensley Vineyard SBC Syrah

Tensley Wines Tensley Vineyard Santa Barbara County Syrah 2020

During our tour of the Santa Maria Valley Foxen Canyon Wine Trail we were advised by one of the other producers to check out Tensley Wines. We drove by the Tensley Vineyard and then visited the hospitality tasting room downtown Los Olivos. We were so impressed with their wines that we joined their wineclub and subsequently received our first shipment which included this label, which we did not taste during our tasting room wine flight. 

For a grilled tomahawk beefsteak dinner, with grilled asparagus, mashed potatoes and ceasar salad, we opened this special Syrah that we just received in our wineclub allocation shipment from Tensley Wines. We were anxious to try this label since we did not get a chance to taste it during our visit to the producer's hospitality tasting room downtown Los Olivos.

Tensley Wines Tensley Vineyard Santa Barbara County Syrah 2020

This vineyard was planted in 2011 in Tensley's backyard in Los Olivos.

Winemaker notes: "Talk about meticulous farming! Being in our backyard this vineyard gets a lot of love, probably to much! All of the time spent in the vineyard here results in a rustic savory style with amazing texture, while toeing the line of finesse. Tiny berries and low yields make this wine dark in color and tannic in the mouth. Not a wine for the meek. If you plan to drink this wine in the next 3-4 years give it an hour to open up so you get the full experience of the texture and complexities."

This release was awarded 93 points by Jeb Dunnuck and 93 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

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

 

Zaca Mesa Mesa Reserve Santa Ynez Syrah

 Zaca Mesa Mesa Reserve Santa Ynez Syrah 2017

Son Alec stopped by to see cousin Lauren and Aunt Pat in town for the weekend. We opened this robust Syrah for casual sipping with artisan cheeses, fresh fruits and veggies on the deck. 

We wrote about this Zaca Mesa Winery label when we tasted it upon receipt as part of our wine club allocation shipment late last fall - Zaca Mesa Mesa Reserve Santa Ynez Syrah.

We visited the Zaca Mesa Estate and Vineyards in Santa Ynez Valley during our Santa Barbara County Wine Experience a year ago last spring. We joined their wine club after tasting their portfolio of Rhone varietal based wines highlighting Syrah, one of our favorite varietals. 

Located just 25 miles from the Pacific Ocean, the vineyards sit in the sweet spot between a cool and warm climate. The high elevation vineyard site in Santa Barbara County’s  Santa Ynez Valley wine country give them the ability to grow dynamic, balanced Rhône grapes like Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Viognier.

Ranging from cool and foggy in the west to warm and dry in the east, the Santa Ynez Valley is a climatically diverse growing area. The most expansive AVA within the larger Santa Barbara County region, Santa Ynez is also home to a wide variety of soil types and geographical features. The appellation is further divided into four distinct sub-AVAs—Sta. Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon, Los Olivos District and Happy Canyon—each with its own defining characteristics.

A wide selection of grapes are planted there with more than sixty different varieties, and counting including Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that pre-dominate in the chilly west, while Zinfandel, Rhône blends, and Bordeaux blends rule to the arid east. Syrah is successful at both ends of the valley, with a lean and peppery, Old-World sensibility closer to the coast and lush berry fruit further inland.

Zaca Mesa Estate Winery on Foxen Canyon Rd
Los Olivos, CA

We were eager to try this Reserve 'flagship' Syrah from this producer who specializes in California Syrah. Their feature of wine says, this "Mesa Reserve Syrah represents the best of our mesa top vineyard, focusing on our favorite blocks of Syrah on our estate, ranging in vine age between 9-22 years."

Zaca Mesa's focus on Syrah intensified when in 2004, they planted their "first true high-density vineyard,” said Director of Vineyard & Winery Operations Eric Mohseni, at the time. “This new vineyard was planted to new Syrah clones and rootstock combinations for Zaca Mesa. The resulting wines had a different tannin and flavor profile. This was the birth of the Mesa Reserve.”

The resulting grapes harvested from that vineyard site displayed a "purity of fruit, broad tannins, and complex aromas of the wine" such that they believed it merited a higher-tier "reserve level" Syrah. Such was the birth of this label Mesa Reserve Syrah, crafted from select barrels from the different sub-blocks to create this wine.

Zaca Mesa Estate Vineyard

This is a blend of fruit sourced from sites "high on a mesa top in Santa Ynez Valley, where the various clones of Syrah ripen in the sun. They are planted on multiple varieties of rootstock, huddled close together in a high-density planting scheme. The microclimate here is unique – several degrees cooler than the neighboring town of Los Olivos."

"The Mesa Reserve is more of a 21st Century wine,” says Brand Ambassador Dane Campbell. “It’s the culmination of our 38 years of experimentation with Syrah, leading to a match of the correct clones and rootstocks to our specific vineyard site.”

“These younger blocks offer a great contrast to older Syrah vines on the property,” says Winemaker Kristin Bryden. “These new clones planted and grown with modern viticultural practices give the Mesa Reserve a brightness of fruit and complex richness that is unique when compared to our older blocks.”

Zaca Mesa Mesa Reserve Santa Ynez Valley Estate Syrah 2017

Winemakers' Notes on this release.  The 2017 Mesa Reserve is a brooding wine. It is comprised of our favorite blocks of Syrah on our estate ranging in vine age from 9- 22 years. The 2017 Mesa Reserve Syrah’s black ripe fruits are saturated with aromatic notes of churned earth, smoked meat, sweet cigar, and dark chocolate. Upon the first sip, the texture and tannins are bold, delivering a decadent middle palate layered with flavors of plum and blackberry jam.

I love it and applaud that Zaca Mesa shares the credit across the winemaking and vineyard team - Kristin, Randy, Agustin, Ruben, José, Angel & Ramirez.

This is 100% Santa Ynez Valley Syrah, sourced from Zaca Mesa estate vineyard Blocks Mesa A, B3, C6 & Chapel G4, G5, it was aged 21 months in 25% new French oak. A total of 856 cases were produced.

The 2017 release was rated 93 points by Antonio Galloni, 92 points by Wine Enthusiast and 91 points by Jeb Dunnuck.

This was delightful with hearty aged Gouda cheese, dark chocolate and assorted fresh fruits and veggies. 

Tonight was consistent with that earlier tasting when I wrote, "Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, firm tight but vibrant aromatic blackberry and ripe cherry fruits, more restrained than those brooding overpowering unctuous fruit bombs, this shows more minerality and wet stone, highlighted by essence of what the winemaker aptly calls 'smoked' or another pundit calls 'roasted' meat, notes of soy, baking spices, hints of tobacco and bitter dark chocolate on the lingering moderate tannin laced finish."

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3909879

https://www.zacamesa.com/

 

Zaca Mesa Winery Twitter - @ZacaMesa_Wine

https://shop.zacamesa.com/2017-Mesa-Reserve-Syrah-6pk-

Beckmen Ballard Canyon Purisima Mountain Vineyard Syrah

Beckmen Vineyards Estate Visit - Ballard Canyon Purisima Mountain Vineyard Syrah

During our visit to Santa Barbara County, Santa Maria and Santa Ynez Valleys, we stopped in at Beckmen Vineyards. It is one of the wineries that has distribution in the Midwest (Illinois) so we can buy their wines here. Hence, we knew of Beckmen and had had their wines. But, of course, only a few labels from their broad portfolio are distributed here, so it was a chance to discover their wines. Regretably, we didn't allow or take time to do a tasting. We'll definitely make it a priority for a future visit to the region. 

Beckmen produce nearly a dozen white wines, and more than a dozen reds, primarily Rhône varietals on their vast estate vineyards. Once again, we were taken aback to discover Rhône varietals in this region, belaying our preconceptions that it is primarily Burgundian varietals (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir), as we discovered with our visits to the Tensley and Zaca Mesa vineyard estates and tasting rooms.

Beckmen is a family owned and operated business founded in 1994 by Tom and Judy Beckmen, their youngest son Steve and more recently by their oldest son Jeff. Beckmen have established themselves as a leading grower and producer in Santa Barbara County, their wines crafted almost exclusively from their two vineyards sites of 150 planted acres combined, the Thomas and Judith Beckmen Estate Vineyard in Los Olivos District AVA and Purisima Mountain Vineyard in the Ballard Canyon AVA. 

The Beck­men Vine­yards are sited in two locations with dra­mat­i­cal­ly dif­fer­ent soils and climates. See their vineyard map (s) at https://beckmenvineyards.com/blog/updated-vineyard-maps.

The 40 acre (25 plant­ed) Beckmen estate vineyard surround the winery and hospitality facilities just outside and south of the town of Los Olivos, on the west­ern bor­der of the Los Olivos Dis­trict. The Beck­men Estate is most­ly plant­ed to Caber­net Sauvi­gnon with small amounts of Grenache, Mourve­dre, and Syrah.

Several miles to the west is Purisi­ma Moun­tain on the west­ern side of Bal­lard Canyon AVA lies their 365 acre (125 acres plant­ed), Purisi­ma Moun­tain Vine­yard. Com­prised most­ly of clay and clay loam, with vary­ing amounts of grav­el, the most unique aspect of this site is the lime­stone sub­soil. The lime­stone soil lim­its vine vig­or and pro­duces small­er vines with low­er yields and more intense­ly fla­vored fruit. 

With peaks reach­ing 1,150 feet, Purisi­ma Moun­tain has almost 500 feet of ele­va­tion change with mul­ti­ple expo­sures. With a cli­mate and rare lime­stone sub­soils sim­i­lar to those found in Côte Rôtie and Châteauneuf du Pape, the vine­yard has proven per­fect for pro­duc­ing a range of Rhône vari­etals, espe­cial­ly Syrah and Grenache, Mourve­dre, and Counoise. 

PMV is also the home of Beck­men’s white wine port­fo­lio, con­sist­ing of Rosé, Sauvi­gnon Blanc, Chardon­nay, Viog­nier, and Grenache Blanc.  

Tend­ing vines from dor­man­cy through har­vest since 1994, the Beck­men's have learned about their two dis­tinct vine­yard prop­er­ties - acre by acre, the unique soil and micro­cli­mate, the elements of terroir, that best hosts each grape vari­etal, fine-tuning their plantings and viticulture to ensur­e every block in the vine­yard con­sis­tent­ly pro­duces the high­est qual­i­ty fruit possible.

The Beckmen estate is tucked back off the road from the side road south of town. 

Past the winery and production facility (below) is a hospitality center (above) with a tasting bar, outdoor decks, patios and lawns overlooking ponds. 

They offer numerous tasting flights and WBTG including some of their limited, allocated, some club-only, and Library wines.

Across the drive is the stately residence, what in France they would refer to as the Chateau, with outdoor gardens and groomed grounds overlooking and surrounded by the vineyards, with views of the hills in distance. 

As soon as we returned home I sought out Beckmen labels at our local wine merchants and found at Binny's, our big-box wine and beverage superstore this Beckmen Syrah.

Beckmen Vineyards Ballard Canyon Purisima Mountain Vineyard Syrah 2019

I must say, this label exceeded my expectations and provided great QPR - Quality Price Ratio - better than my earlier forays into this brand. I've gained a new appreciation for Rhône vari­etals from Santa Maria Valley and the range of high quality production from there. 

Winemaker notes: "The cool 2019 growing season produced a very savory vintage of PMV (Purisima Mountain Vineyard) Syrah. Cured meats, game, roasted earth, pepper, blackberry, and coco highlight the aromas of the 2019. Elegant and rounded on the palate (reminiscent of the very successful 2015 vintage), the mouth shows off sweet black fruits, dark chocolate, game, mocha, and pepper with fine tannins that carry the flavor through the very long, savory finish. A bit young and tight upon release, the 2019 should be decanted or aged for the short term and will age beautifully for the next 15-18 years or longer. Crafted from 100% certified biodynamic syrah grapes."

Antonio Galloni of Vinous gave this wine 94 points in Oct 2021. "The 2019 Syrah Purisima Mountain Vineyard is a wild, exotic wine. Blueberry jam, chocolate, spice, leather and licorice fill out the layers effortlessly. This unctuous, heady Syrah shows just how distinctive Ballard Canyon is. A year or two in bottle should help soften some of the harder edges."

Interesting that he notes the "harder edges", which is what I encountered and found off-putting on earlier tastings from this producer, but they were moderated and not impacting this release. This was dark inky garnet purple colored, full bodied, unctuous brambly blackberry and blueberry fruits with a nuance of sweet clove spice and vanilla punctuated by notes of licorice, black pepper and hints of dark chocolate and leather, with lingering moderate tannins on the finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3948161

https://beckmenvineyards.com/

https://twitter.com/BeckmenVineyard

@BeckmenVineyard 

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

Bells French Bistro Los Alamos

Bell's Restaurant French Bistro Lunch in Los Alamos, Santa Maria Valley

Visiting Santa Maria Valley Wine Country, we were able to get in to dine at Bell's Restaurant, an incredible, quaint, trendy, chic, family-run, French-inspired bistro in Los Alamos, California, just off the Santa Maria wine trail.

Since opening in March 2018, owners Greg Ryan and Chef Daisy and have been recognized as Food & Wine Best New Chef, Esquire’s Best New Restaurants, and have been featured in such publications as Eater LA, Conde Nast Traveler and Travel & Leisure.  Notably, they recently received a Michelin Star for their handicraft. 

Daisy Ryan, Executive Chef/Co-Owner is a native of the Santa Ynez Valley. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, she worked for New York City institutions Gramercy Tavern, Chef’s Fare at Brooklyn Fare and Per Se, before returning to the west coast with husband Greg. In Los Angeles, she helped open The Line Hotel in Koreatown, before heading to Austin with McGuire Moorman Hospitality. 

Three years later, Daisy and Greg permanently relocated to California’s Central Coast, opening Bell’s as their first independent restaurant project. They also operate a sister restaurant Bar Le Cote, in Los Olivos, opened in 2021.

Co-Owner/CEO Greg Ryan grew up in the Willamette Valley near Portland, Oregon, where he attended both college and culinary school. He began his career at Tribeca Grill and Per Se in New York City, before heading to the west coast with Daisy. After working as Restaurant Director at LA’s Beverly Hills Hotel, he and Daisy spent a few years in Austin, as GM for Jeffrey’s and Josephine House. Shortly after the birth of their son, Henry, Greg and Daisy returned to California to open Bell’s in Los Alamos.

The restaurant is housed in the incredibly quaint picturesque former Bell Street Farms space in downtown Los Alamos. 

For lunch, we opened with starters, the Chicken Liver Mousse with strawberry jam, cornichons on crostini, and the Crudo of Hiramasa with avocado mousse in a spring onion vinaigrette. 

Both were delectable served with an imaginative presentation.

We shared for our main course the Steak Frites coulotte with maître d’hôtel butter, a grilled beefsteak with their signature home-made fries. 

To accompany our lunch we tasted from the WBTG selections a local Chardonnay.

Metrick "Sierra Madre Vineyard" Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay 2016

Being a culinary driven restaurant, I followed their lead to select from their winelist this WBTG featured offering.

This is from Metrick, producer winemaker Alex Russan who strives to produce fresh and elegant wines that represent their vineyard origins, and to test techniques and theories on how to best craft wines so that they most accurately represent their vineyards. 

In addition to winemaking, Russan is known for his wine publications about wine science and the nature of terroir. Previously he owned Alexander Jules, a Spanish wine import company focused on rare grapes and labels of barrel selected sherries. Being interested in rare grapes, he crossbred new grape varieties, though though they're still a few years away from their first fruit.

​He carefully selects vineyards with the intent to produce his style of wine - high toned, "mineral" whites and earthier, herbal reds; both with good acid. He works with vineyards marked with coastal influence.  

For a pure and precise expression of Chardonnay, Russan selected the Sierra Madre Vineyard site with its cool, maritime climate and sandy soils. Originally planted in 1971, it is one of the most historic vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley, and Santa Barbara County.

Sierra Madre is the second closest vineyard in the AVA to the Pacific where constant ocean winds define the cool climate site, rarely exceeding 90 degrees during ripening (2016 was especially cool). The pure sand soils with a lower water holding capacity lead to quicker ripening relative to clay content soils pure thereby producing grapes with precise aromatics for leaner bodied wine.

Butter colored, medium bodied, elegant nicely balanced green apple, pear and stone fruits with smooth crisp elegance on a clean finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3480553

https://www.metrickwines.com/ 

https://www.bellsrestaurant.com/