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Tasting notes
Released only in magnum, the 2018 Syrah OGT is straight-up smoking juice that offers just about everything you could want from Syrah. Revealing a deep purple color as well as stacked notes of cassis, crushed violets, smoked game, and peppered meat, it has full-bodied richness, a seamless, flawless texture, and a great finish. It has the vintage’s beautiful acidity and purity yet still packs gorgeous fruit and depth. 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
The 2018 Syrah OGT is another wine in this range that beautifully encapsulates Joey Tensley's style. There is plenty of the resonance found in wines like the Noir and BMT, but the OGT has more aromatic lift and overall structure than those wines. Time in the glass brings out a whole range of floral and spice notes. I would cellar the 2018 for another 2-3 years at minimum.
The 2018 Syrah OGT captures all the best the vintage has to offer. Inky dark fruit, savory aromatics and rich, pliant fruit all infuse the OGT with tremendous character and myriad shades of dimension. Time in the glass brings out striking layers of floral and spice notes to round things off.
A finished barrel sample, the opaque purple-black colored 2018 Syrah OGT is primary on the nose, giving up glimpses of dense, lush blue and black fruits with chocolate and spicy notions. It's full-bodied and mineral-driven in the mouth, knit by very ripe, grainy tannins and juicy freshness with savory hints on the finish. Loads of potential!