Tensley All Blocks Estate Blend 2018 | Tensley’s Top Scoring Estate Blend
The Tensley All Blocks Estate Blend 2018 pulls out all the stops, reaching what Jeb Dunnuck calls “Châteauneuf du Pape-like character and complexity” at 94-points. The release is unapologetically rich. Already the fourth vintage of this wine that we’ve offered. The previous 2016 release racked up 4- and 5-star ratings that top out at an average of 4.25 out of 5 stars! One extremely happy client even wrote: “This wine is amazing! The nose is full of dark fruit and the taste is without parallel. I’m so happy with this purchase that I went ahead and bought the Tensley Syrah as well. Seek this wine out.”
Red Wine Gems under $35
Tensley All Blocks Estate Blend 2018 presents a seep purple and highly viscous. Bold fruity aromas charge out of the gate, including blackberry, blueberry, and cherry preserves augmented by notes of smoked meat, pink peppercorn, and lavender. Unapologetically rich, the palate is unctuous, with supple tannins and flavors of black fruit and spice so decadent you may not share the bottle. Drink now – 2029.
92-94JD | Coming from 66% Colson Grenache, 12% Tensley Vineyard Syrah, and the rest Colson Canyon Syrah, the 2018 Syrah All Blocks sports a deep ruby/plum color as well as terrific notes of black fruits, cured meats, spice, and crushed flowers. With a Châteauneuf du Pape-like character and complexity, it’s medium to full-bodied, beautifully pure, and textured, with silky tannins.
Parker & Galloni love Joey Tensley Syrahs
Since 2007, no Syrah-maker on the coast has garnered more 94- to 99-point scores from Robert Parker and Antonio Galloni — not Colgin, Alban, Turley, or Sine Qua Non — than Joey Tensley. We just got our hands on this 2016 “All Blocks,” a red blend of 100% estate fruit, combining the best of his Tensley and Colson Canyon vineyards. Wine Spectator’s 94-point review called it “polished and well-structured” with “refined, layered blueberry and savory licorice flavors that linger towards harmonious tannins.” A 94-point wine from an American Syrah master for under-$30 — what’s easier than that?
Tensley recently bought Colson Canyon Vineyard, the source of some of the greatest single-vineyard releases of his career, and in 2015 created a new cuvee: “All Blocks” which combines all estate Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre in a brilliant Châteauneuf-Like New World Red.
Winemaker Joey Tensley | Santa Barbara Syrah
Joey Tensley is a Bakersfield farm boy with a savant-like knack for winegrowing. With his wife Lea, they bootstrapped their way to the top. The wines of his competition, the likes of Colgan and Kongsgaard, come with three-digit price tags. However, the couple keeps their pricing modest, even with their brand on fire.
We met with Joey at a private tasting a few months back. He asserted that Tensleys make the kind of wines they’d like to have on their own dinner table each night. Accordingly, he has become not only a massive hit with the wine-buying public but a critical darling. “Joey Tensley continues to make some of the most unctuous, decadent, yet balanced wines from Santa Barbara County,” declared Jeb Dunnuck. “And if you factor price, you can’t beat them.”
Explore today’s finds at Wine Access
It was love at first sight for Winemaker Joey Tensley when he originally spied the rugged Colson Canyon Vineyard back in 1997. While perched high up at an elevation of 1,400 feet, the combination of warm days and cool nights produce dense, fruit-forward wines with opulent jamminess. So in 2017, Colson supplied the velvety mouthfeel and rich dark-berry profile of Santa Barbara Syrah. Tensley Vineyard delivered the Cornas-like savory earth notes.
