2019 Joey Tensley Pinot Noir Fundamental Central Coast 750 ml

Joey Tensley’s wines are an obsession at Wine Access. The 100-point winemaker’s blockbuster reds absolutely crush the Wine Access member-ratings with their off-the-charts quality and rock-steady consistency.

While his résumé is built on Rhône-style wines, Tensley has parlayed his location in California’s Pinot hotbed and his limitless connections to create one of the most staggering California Pinot Noir values out there: the 2019 Fundamental Pinot Noir. Sourced from Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Maria, and Monterey, this wine earned an absolutely incredible 92-point score from the tough-to-please Wine Advocate. 

Santa Maria’s the spot that Joey says “brings that California nuance” to the deep, red-fruited Pinot, while he attributes the savoriness to the Sta. Rita Hills and Monterey County grapes. It all shines through, largely due to his choice to age the 2019 Fundamental in 100% in neutral barrels. 

Joey’s got access to prime vineyard sources that enable him to produce stunningly high-quality wines at fantastic prices. In addition to the “super-duper” wines—so dubbed by Robert Parker—that wear the “Tensley” label, Joey wanted to make sure his fans knew that when they bought his value-driven Fundamental wines they were getting a bona-fide Tensley bottling. “I put my name on my second label,” he told us. “I’m proud of it.”

Although he owns 18 acres of vines and is widely considered a savant of the Central Coast, Joey’s still a Bakersfield farm boy at heart—one whose work ethic, focus, and insistence on quality shows in his Fundamental wines, which he and his wife Jennifer have open on the dinner table every night.