2014 Tensley Syrah Colson Canyon Vineyard Santa Barbara County 750 ml

2014 Colson Canyon: “Eerily Similar to 2007”

In 2009, WineAccess was just getting its sea legs. That spring, we received a call from a young winemaker who was gaining quite a following for a tiny-production Syrah from a place called Colson Canyon.

As the wine world has learned over the last seven years, Joey Tensley is one of the most brilliant and indefatigable winemaker entrepreneurs on the Santa Barbara coast. But in 2009, with the country entering the Great Recession, Tensley needed a quick boost. His single-vineyard Syrah was making quite a stir among the critics, but Syrah sales were soft and Joey had made a bit more wine than he probably should have. On that first call, Tensley described this 16-acre parcel planted on a rugged 115 acres of red volcanic soil high up in the Santa Maria foothills. Then he shifted into sales mode.

Despite superb reviews and ratings from Robert Parker and Wine Spectator, and a price tag that was well below the high-scoring competition, Tensley cut to the chase. “Can you MOVE 200 cases of my 2007?” he asked.

The next day, we wrote our first Colson Canyon story. Then WineAccess did just as Joey asked.

Since the release of that phenomenal 2007, Tensley has gone on a tear. From 2007-2014, no Syrah-maker in America other than Colgin has garnered higher ratings from Robert Parker. We’ve long joked that the greatest difference between Colson Canyon Syrah and Colgin’s Estate Syrah are price tags that differ by a factor of SIX!

At the end of last year, fresh off three years of banner sales and financial results, Joey and his wife Lea purchased Colson Canyon. With demand that now far exceeds supply, many would have forgotten how WineAccess responded when times were tough. Not Joey. Tensley called, still basking in the glow of another 93- to 95-point review from The Wine Advocate for his magnificent 2014 Colson Canyon Syrah, a wine that Tensley claims is “eerily similar to the 2007 at the same stage of its life.” After exchanging pleasantries, we recalled that first phone call and our 200-case allocation, and asked for the same.

Joey laughed. “I’ll give you 50, just for old time’s sake.” That was back in May. Today, Joey is giving the last-call notice to WineAccess. 120 bottles are up for grabs until the next vintage.

As The Wine Advocate wrote, the 2014 Tensley Colson Canyon Syrah is a “blockbuster.” Purple-black. Luscious aromas of black raspberry, graphite, black olive, and sweet spice, touched with new-wood cedar. Big, bold, and wildly opulent, filled with black raspberry and black cherry preserves, a splash of kirsch, that classic dash of white pepper that we always find in Colson Canyon Syrah, and with what Parker’s publication called “a monster finish.”

$39.99/bottle. Shipping included on 4 — best delivered price in America. NOT to be missed. Last Call!