2020 Tensley Syrah Colson Canyon Vineyard Santa Barbara County

Joey Tensley has been in the upper echelon of California winemaking for two decades—but the man is at the absolute top of his game right now.

Check out this critical tear: Joey, who regularly scores in the upper 90s, earned his first ever 100-point score this year. And three out of the last four vintages of his flagship Colson Canyon Syrah have landed in Wine Spectator’s Top 100—a feat very few wines have ever accomplished. 

This 2020 is one of his best Colson Canyon bottlings yet. Antonio Galloni called it a “showstopper,” awarding it an early 95–97-point score—if it lands at the top of that range, it’ll equal the highest rating Vinous has ever given this Tensley flagship.

Tensley released his first vineyard-designate Syrah from Colson Canyon in 2001, and he and his wife Jennifer purchased the property about five years ago, ensuring that he would always be able to tap his most distinctive site. It covers115 acres but has only 16 acres of grapes, and 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. 

However, forbidding sites can also be the most blessed. Colson Canyon proves that year in and year out—and the quality has climbed even higher since the Tensleys took over. They thin the canopy, carefully monitor moisture, and drop fruit when they need to. The reward of all this hands-on care is one of California’s greatest red wine values, bar none.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 15.00%
• 1 hour
• Now – 2032
• % Syrah
• Serving temperature – 62°
• Cork