During a recent trip through Santa Barbara County, I was able to visit Joey Tensley’s Colson Canyon Vineyard, as well as taste through his Colson Canyon Syrah (and a few Grenache) going back to 2001.

While Tensley has made wine from this vineyard since 2000, it has always been from purchased fruit. However, he and his wife Jennifer opted to purchase the 115-acre property and 16 acres of vines in 2016, adding to their estate properties which include the Tensley Vineyard located in Los Olivos.

This is a true mountain site lying north of Santa Ynez, at an elevation of 1,400 feet. The resulting wine is always one of the most concentrated and structured in Tensley lineup, and as I hope the reviews show, it ages beautifully.

By Jeb Dunnuck
Founder & Wine Critic
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