Tensley, Tierra Alta Syrah, Santa Barbara County

Past prime

2011 vintage

Gamey. Past its prime. I’m not finding Tensley’s to be age worthy. I’ve had three Syrah vintages over the last month that just did not hold up.

2011 vintage

Garnet in color, clear and fresh looking in the glass. Fruity nose with blueberries. Bright blue fruits with nice acidity and medium soft tannins but a sour finish.

2008 vintage

Delicious! Super drinkable right now. Delightful robust Syrah.

2011 vintage

This is fantastic. Still fair amounts of fruit. Blueberries, black cherry, loganberry, etc. Lots of olives, smoked meat,Mediterranean herbs, etc. Some of the Tensleys are over the top, this isn’t one of them. Maybe it’s vintage, maybe it’s vineyard.

2011 vintage

Popped then poured. No noted bricking. Minimal settlement. And simple care of dark red fruits. Agree with the notes from previous about the tart flavor here. Also noted effervescence as well. Not a pleasurable drink tonight. Recorked for tomorrow, alas we did not drink it. Flawed? Show no improvement on night two or three.

2008 vintage

A little atypical from what I expect from Tensley, but not necessarily a bad thing. The color is more of a medium ruby, as opposed to many of their wines that skew very deep, inky and almost opaque. The palate and the nose really reflect the cooler nature of 2011, which skews a little green, but more in a herbaceous sense than a heavy pyrazine, bell pepper note. The classic smoke, pepper and meat notes retains the syrah profile, but …

2011 vintage

A little green on opening -- did better with time... would suggest planning on 90 minutes open even if just in the bottle. Not the strongest Tensley showing, but understood given 2011.

2011 vintage

Lots of red fruit and spice on a pnp. Very enjoyable and quite light on the palate for a Tensley wine. Really surprising but a good surprise. Very good

2011 vintage

This drank WAY better on Day 3 than on the first two days. Needs some time to come together as it is packing a lot.

2011 vintage

No decant (but it would've only helped). Dense, deep inky purple with blackberry and dark berry fruits, granite, smoke, charred meats and black olives. Palate is true to the nose with a bit more jammy fruit up front though finishes great with pepper, smoke, and round tannins with big full body. Wish I had more.

2011 vintage

Agreed on the sweet-tart flavor, plus a little effervescence that hung around for more than an hour. I'm seeing some orange in the edges so not sure this one will evolve much more ... drink up.

2008 vintage

nicely balanced between plum and herb flavors - less powerful than typical Tensley wines - slightly tannic, could have used another year, perhaps

2011 vintage

Nose of current, blueberry, and licorice. In the mouth definite hints of graphite, granite, slate along with deep berry undertones and a ton of minerals. Very well balanced with powerful front palette and nice long and smooth finish. Extremely young but drinking well, this one will go many more years and will only improve with age.

2011 vintage

At the tasting room in Los Olivos with Jennifer T. Purple/ruby color - floral/black fruit nose. Fruit forward, blueberry, tart blackberry, plums. Mild tannins, drinking well right now.

2011 vintage

I agree with the tart comment.... Out of balance even after two days.

2008 vintage

A little disappointing. Tierra Alta has long been one of my Tensley favorites, but this one was a little tart. It decanted for almost an hour, but I don't know if more would have helped. The tartness probably hid some underlying flavors that I wish would've come through.

2008 vintage

Garnet colored Black Pepperish on the nose. Black currant, and Blackberry. Medium to full body with a nice brightness / acidity not overwhelming due to a long decant. Will be awesome in three years. A medium delicious finish. Glad I have three more bottles.

2008 vintage

Consumed over 4 days, best on day 4. NEEDS long decant, or will just taste tart and acidic. With time dark berry fruits balance the tartness, great Tensley medium to full body and mouthfeel. Nice wine.

2008 vintage

Popped and poured and drank over two days. Acidic, tart, disappointing.

2008 vintage

Strong berry fruits on the body; good body; full finish

2008 vintage

Vegetal (green pepper), acidic, tart.

2008 vintage

Very nice California Syrah - well integrated, good fruit, nice acid, with pepper. Overall, very smooth tannins.

2008 vintage

Big menthol nose, with huge blackberry and blueberry on the palate. There are no noticable tannins, but the big juicy acidity keep the wine from becoming syrup. I really enjoyed this.

2008 vintage

a little too sweet for me. not one of my favorite Tensley's.

2008 vintage

Santa Barbara Winetasting Trip Day 2: Carr, Tensley, Carina, Qupé (Santa Barbara and Los Olivos, California) : Very dark red violet color; tart red plum, menthol, green herb nose; light-medium bodied, herbal, red currant, red plum palate with near medium acidity; medium finish

2008 vintage

Has nice minerals and earth. An impressive young Syrah from Joey.

2008 vintage

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Tensley, Tierra Alta Syrah, Santa Barbara County

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