2018 Colson Canyon Vineyard Syrah
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Tasting notes
From the estate vineyard in the hills above Los Olivos, the 2018 Syrah Colson Canyon is all Syrah that was 70% destemmed and spent 16 months mostly in used barrels (a small amount new). This deeply colored effort offers up a gorgeous bouquet of crème de cassis, smoked game, sappy flowers, and a kiss of bacon fat. It needs air to show at its best and is full-bodied and beautifully textured, with bright acidity and a great finish. It's another brilliant wine from Tensley that does everything right. Give bottles 2-3 years and enjoy over the following 10-15. The 2018s from Tensley are some of the finest wines he’s made. They have the classic, opulent style he’s known for paired with more freshness, purity, and acidity. His wines age beautifully, but my money is on his 2018s evolving even longer. The 2019s are close in style, yet have even fresher, more elegant profiles. These wines will put on weight over the course of their élevage, and this is certainly another brilliant vintage. If you take prices into account, dollar for dollar, these are some of the greatest wines out there.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
A wine of immense pedigree and stature, the 2018 Syrah Colson Canyon Vineyard captures the essence of Joey Tensley's style. Soaring aromatics, dense fruit and beams of tannin shape a Syrah of intense richness and savory depth. The Colson Canyon Syrah is a wine of tremendous dimension that gets better and better with time in the glass. Cedar, sweet pipe tobacco, iron and bright red fruit build into the palate-staining finish. All I can say is: Wow!!
The 2018 Syrah Colson Canyon Vineyard is a flat-out gorgeous beauty. Vibrant, nuanced and beautifully delineated, the 2018 is an absolute stunner. Inky blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice and menthol are all beautifully delineated. Brisk, nuanced and full of class, the 2018 is positively stellar, not to mention incredibly promising.
Opaque purple-black, the finished barrel sample of 2018 Syrah Colson Canyon Vineyard is still quite primary on the nose, showing glimpses of warm black and blue fruits, coffee, prosciutto, sage and chocolate. Full-bodied, rich and intense in the mouth, it's youthfully wound with firm, grainy tannins and good freshness, finishing long.