Orders are available for pick-up at Restaurant Nicholas at 160 Route 35 South Red Bank, NJ 07701 during the following times:
Monday: 9:30-3:30; Tuesday – Friday: 9:15am – 9:00pm; Saturday: 11:00am – 9:00pm; Sunday: Closed
$20.00 $18.50
Though he’s a super humble guy, you can tell Joey is special. Robert Parker, Jr. used to make sure he personally tasted through his wines each year because they were that good. He famously gave his Colson Canyon Syrah a 99-point score, becoming one of the first to achieve that score with an under-$50 wine. But Joey Tensley’s Big Reds are consistently that good. Unrivalled value in Santa Barbara and maybe in America.
I had a chance to secure Joey’s 96-Point Colson Canyon Syrah this year, but haven’t pulled the trigger just yet (if you’re interested, click here – I know a guy). Not when I tasted this stunner of a wine that came with a perplexing price tag. That’s not just me talking– Jeb Dunnuck in his 91-point review called it a “smoking good wine and value.”
The 2019 Fundamental Red from Joey is simply a treat. It’s beyond belief what goes into this crazy good Fundamental Red Blend including the famous aforementioned Colson Canyon Syrah. But it doesn’t stop there– bright and juicy Santa Barbara Grenache, some Mourvedre for a hint of spice and earthiness and even in an ode to the great Cote Roties in the Rhone and Sine Qua Non in the States, a splash of Viognier to bring out all the freshness and aromatics.
You’d think given the prowess, laundry list of awards and handful of quotes like Jeb Dunnuck’s “dollar for dollar [Tensley] makes some of the greatest wines out there” that Tensley’s wines would start to price people out… but here we are today with this Tuesday Night stunner.
Out of stock
91 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Red Wine checks in as 50% Syrah, 35% Grenache, 12% Mourvèdre, and the balance Viognier, all of which was 85% de-stemmed, and it spent 10 months in neutral oak. Lots of red, blue, and black fruits as well as peppery and spice dominate the nose, and it’s medium to full-bodied, with plenty of fruit, surprising complexity, and good overall freshness. It’s a smoking good red as well as a value.”
90 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
Xavier Vignon’s brand spanking new CDR 100% is a thing of beauty. It’s already got a blessing from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate who described this wine as, “Full-bodied, concentrated and supple”. This is a gorgeous and intricate blend that features all of the Southern Rhone appellations. This year, the blend was 40% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, 15% Syrah, 7% Cinsault, 7% Marselan, 6% Terret Noir. Nobody can do it like the mad scientist, Xavier Vignon.
100 Points, Decanter
“Finely textured, with a nuanced perfume that fills the glass and takes you to the intense underbrush of Tuscany. Succulent and yet savory, this has a lilting freshness that is overlaid with ripe berry fruits, sage and white pepper spice, and clear minerality in terms of its scraping texture that makes your mouth water on the finish. Feels light and sculpted and yet has an intensity that skewers you to the spot. This is a great wine, with scope and imagination that doesn’t want to let you go. Genuinely stands out among the wines of this tasting, and these are a fine array of wines. As with Colore, Bibi Graetz selects only old vines, the youngest 50 years old from five different vineyard sites across Tuscany, all farmed organically.”
Once again dialing up fruit from 1000-1500ft in elevation in the Dundee Hills, Chad’s 2021 is juicy, laser focused and roaring out of the gates. Chad tells me that similar wines (very similar wines) off this vineyard are raising their prices up to $55/bottle from $45 this year due to 2020’s lost year. But where most people are raising prices to recoup last year’s losses, the CHAD Pinot Noir price is somehow lower. A true gift from our favorite winemaker.
93 Points, James Suckling – 92 Points, Wine Spectator – 92 Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate
San Giorgio Ugolforte is the sister winery of Poggio di Sotto. Their 2017 presents a dark core of red and black berry fruit layered with earth, leather, smoke, and herbs. It’s a complex and elegant expression, that presents a full mouthfeel that is firm in tannin structure. The refreshing acidity frames a graceful finish. Just a classic Brunello di Montalcino.
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