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.”
95 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Once again, Fabio Motta knocks it out of the ballpark. The 2016 Bolgheri Superiore Le Gonnare is another super rich and densely concentrated Tuscan blended wine from this classic vintage. This blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Syrah is soft and velvety. In fact, the wine plays its best cards in terms of the supple and soft nature of the mouthfeel and tannins. The wine is partially aged (only 20%) in new oak. Only 6,600 bottles were made total.”
Lydia’s 2020 HCN is drop dead gorgeous– old-school Red Burgundy with fine aromatics, crunchy, juicy fruit and a sharp vibrancy that makes it just sing with food. Made from super old vines and a low yield with no new oak in the aging process, the wine is a joy to drink– a bowl full of berries on the nose, high-toned, racy fruit that has been touched by a limestone mineral component in the mid-palate with the structure and length that has become the hallmark of Cornu-Camus wines. It’s drinking fantastically now and should be all the way thru 2030.
98 Points, James Suckling #36 Top US Wine of the Year – 97 Points, Decanter
In 2015, the last of four consecutive drought years and one of Napa’s great vintages over the past few decades, it’sno surprise that one of Napa’s all-time great wineries turned in a flawless bottling from the legendary Martha’s Vineyard. Decanter absolutely gushed, giving it 97 points and declaring, “no Cabernet has the aromatic profile of Martha’s. They would even go so far to say, “There isn’t a more definitive Cabernet Sauvignon in the world, at any price.” James Suckling would go a step further in the points department giving the wine a 98, but if Wine Enthusiast had got their hands on it, this would be a 100-point wine yet again. Just 30 bottles of Napa winemaking history up for grabs today.
93 Points, James Suckling – 92 Points, Wine Spectator
This wine is so stinking good– there’s a reason it’s been a multiple recipient of a Wine Spectator Top 100 Wine of the Year nod. With a fresh 92-point review, this may follow some of its predecessors on the end of the year lists. Regardless, this is a fantastic Oregon Pinot that I would recommend to anyone. It’s just so fresh and vibrant with an emphatic expression of berries and herbs and an effortless smoothness that lasts all the way through the finish. It’s Oregon Pinot at its best– when you feel like you’re drinking silk.
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