Tensley 2019 Syrah, Santa Barbara

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.”

This 2019 brings together all of the fascinating microclimates Santa Barbara County has to offer. It’s based in Tensley’s backbone vineyards: Thompson, Colson Canyon, and Tensley, and also features Syrah from Cottonwood Canyon and Estelle Vineyards. Some of these vineyards are cool and fog-influenced, while others are dry and windy. The resulting wine celebrates all that each microclimate has to offer.

Fermentation begins in open top fermenters with hand punchdowns and is finished in French oak barrels 40% new where it aged for 10 months.

Jeb Dunnuck scored this 93 points saying "Tasted out of bottle, the 2019 Syrah Santa Barbara County is another terrific wine that could be 2-3 times the price. Elegant, complex notes of red plums, blackberries, toasted spiced, peppered meats, and flowery incense all give way to a medium to full-bodied Syrah that has silky tannins, no hard edges, and just a balanced, layered style that’s impossible to resist. It’s beautifully done, as well as a smoking value. It will evolve for 8-10 years."