Same Mission New Soloists
We are delighted to announce the most exciting news since our inaugural vintage:
Introducing single-vineyard Tenor wines.
Beginning in 2007, our aim for Tenor was clear: to celebrate the incredible potential of 100% single varietals.
This has meant that while each Tenor wine has been 100% single varietal, they could be comprised of as many as 5-6 vineyard sources across multiple AVAs. This technique gives each Tenor wine a harmonious expression worthy of representing the Columbia Valley in its purest form.
But, we wanted to go further.
In Spring 2021, we welcomed a new winemaking team. While most of the wine critics and press have focused their attention on our efforts to fulfill Matthews original promise, a quiet revolution has been happening with Tenor.
While our work on Matthews has focused on traditional bordeaux-varietals and blends, Tenor has allowed us to push boundaries. We’ve explored classics like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc while embracing varietals like Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Grenache, and Syrah—all crafted with a commitment to purity and focus.
Now, we’re taking the next step.
The same mission—but with a fresh focus: showcasing the unique profiles of our most dynamic vineyards.
Over the past four vintages, our team has been amazed at the way our vineyards have evolved. Their unique personalities—expressed through texture, structure, and flavor—have grown louder, singing to us from the cellar: “Release me as a single vineyard wine.”
We listened.
We’re thrilled to introduce Tenor’s first-ever single vineyard wines: 2022 Chardonnay’s from Conner Lee, Solaksen, and La Renya Blanca vineyards.
These wines represent the pinnacle of what we’ve achieved so far, receiving our highest reviews yet from both Vinous and Owen Bargreen (see below).
These three Chardonnays will be followed by both single vineyard Syrahs and Sauvignon Blancs in early 2025. In addition to these new single vineyard wines, Tenor will continue to craft a multi-vineyard wine under the Columbia Valley name for many of our varietals.
While our Columbia Valley blends remain central to our identity, this marks a new chapter for Tenor. Thanks to years of planning and meticulous care by both our winemaking team and vineyard partners, we’re entering what we believe is a golden age of vineyard health across the Columbia Valley. This new mission allows us to focus Tenor’s future on single vineyard expressions across all our varietals.
We couldn’t be more excited to share this new chapter with you. These wines embody everything we love about our region.
We hope you love them just as much as we do.
It’s a new day for Tenor.
Let’s celebrate the soloists.
2023 Tenor ‘Spice Cabinet’ Sauvignon Blanc
Coming soon
The 2023 Tenor ‘Spice Cabinet’ Sauvignon Blanc is a new wine for this brand coming from this Columbia Valley site. Toasty French bread and hazelnut aromatics combine with shades of green papaya and mango on the nose. The palate is deep and concentrated stuff with a silky texture and loads of mouth-watering freshness. Enjoy this beautiful wine now and over the next eight years. 100% new French oak.
95 points Owen Bargreen, OwenBargreen.com
The 2023 Sauvignon Blanc Spice Cabinet Vineyard opens in the glass with a dusty and floral blend of young peaches infused with lemon zest, wildflowers and spice. It's seductively rich, nearly creamy in feel, with masses of ripe pit fruits and hints of sour melon all guided by a zesty acidic core. Spicy and long, the 2023 tapers off with a tinge of ginger and lime pith, youthfully tense yet wonderfully fresh.
93+ points Eric Guido, Vinous
2023 Tenor ‘Olsen’ Sauvignon Blanc
Coming soon
The 2023 Tenor Sauvignon Blanc comes from this slightly cooler site set in the Yakima Valley. Vines for this wine are located in the higher portion of the vineyard. The aromatics are gorgeous with passion fruit and mango giving this an exotic feel. The palate is weightless and dense with beautiful freshness. This is nothing short of a stunning new bottling that has some really good aging potential.
96 points Owen Bargreen, OwenBargreen.com
Tropical melon and florals give way to a dusting of confectionary spice, wet stones and mint accents as the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc Spice Cabinet Vineyard blossoms in the glass. Silken and pliant, the 2023 seems to hover across the palate, graceful and finessed yet still potent and impactful, with masses of mineral-inflected orchard fruit. Pleasantly chewy, the 2023 resonates with tension, as a lemony concentration lingers over a crunchy layer of minerality. This is easily one of the top Sauvignon Blancs that I've tasted from Washington.
93 points Eric Guido, Vinous
2022 Tenor ‘Connor Lee’ Chardonnay
The 2022 Tenor ‘Connor Lee Vineyard’ Chardonnay comes from this site that is one of the oldest plantings for this varietal in the state. A brilliant golden hue, this delivers buttercream and roasted pineapple on the nose alongside cloves and shades of bananas foster. The palate is rich and unctuous with loads of underlying finesse. The flavor density here is outstanding, offering generous citrus, melon and tropical fruit flavors. Luxurious in its body and waxy texture, enjoy this beauty now and over the next ten plus years.
96 points Owen Bargreen, OwenBargreen.com
The 2022 Chardonnay Conner Lee Vineyard opens with a rich bouquet that blends almond custard with peach sorbet, hints of vanilla and crushed stone. This is deeply textural, nearly oily in feel, with a solid core of ripe nectarines underscored by sour citrus as a tactile mineral staining settles in. The 2022 cleans up beautifully, long and gently tannic, yet still fresh, leaving a tinge of confectionary spice that fades slowly. Exceptional.
94 points Eric Guido, Vinous
2022 Tenor ‘Solaksen’ Chardonnay
This 2022 Chardonnay comes from the Solaksen Vineyard in the Royal Slope AVA. This utilizes clone 15 and 76 selections that were planted in 2015. Soft and supple on the palate, this offers saline drenched lemon curd flavors alongside juicy peach, walnut and shades of salty soils. Complex and delicious, enjoy this beauty now and over the next ten plus years to come.
95 points Owen Bargreen, OwenBargreen.com
Displaying a deep golden color and a perfumed blend of dusty dried flowers, incense, apricots and ground ginger notes, the 2022 Solaksen Chardonnay is impossible to ignore. This flows across the palate like nectar, opulent yet balanced with savory white pit fruits and a salty tinge toward the close. Hints of raw almond and baking spice linger on as the 2022 finishes long and refined, leaving a perfumed liquid floral sensation that resonates.
93 points Eric Guido, Vinous
2022 Tenor ‘La Reyna Blanca’ Chardonnay
The outstanding 2022 Tenor ‘La Reyna Blanca’ Chardonnay is set in the Royal Slope AVA, planted near the Solaksen Vineyard. Pink lady apple and creme brûlée notes meld well with baking spice dusted pie crust and shades of roasted pineapple on the nose. The palate is world-class in terms of depth and freshness with loads of mouth-watering acidity. A gorgeous bottling now, enjoy over the next ten plus years.
96 points Owen Bargreen, OwenBargreen.com
The 2022 Chardonnay La Reyna Blanca Vineyard is sweetly floral with a whiff of mint and chamomile, white flowers and freshly sliced yellow apples. This is more savory than expected, yet wonderfully fresh and spry, with ginger-infused orchard fruits and a zesty tinge of sour citrus and spice, all guided by brisk acidity. The 2022 holds its power in reserve, long and staining, lightly structured, with a lingering tension and enriching hints of custard. There is a bright future ahead for La Reyna Blanca. Simply stunning.
94 points Eric Guido, Vinous
2022 Tenor ‘Stoneridge’ Syrah
Coming soon
Sourced from this famed site in the Royal Slope AVA, the 2022 Tenor ‘Stoneridge Vineyard’ Syrah is very concentrated in the glass and was given a touch of stem inclusion. Hoisin sauce and soy sauce character combine with roasted duck, bacon fat and stony accents on the nose. The palate is concentrated and fresh with serious texture and good underlying finesse. A knockout wine from 2022, enjoy now and over the next ten years.
97 Points Owen Bargreen, OwenBargreen.com
The 2022 Syrah Stoneridge Vineyard is a sultry beast, opening with a vivid blend of black raspberries, sweet sage, crushed rocks and hints of sweet spice. Seductively smooth and supple, this splashes across the palate with silken textures and violet-laced blackberries offset by sour citrus tones. Its tannins are round, present yet not in the way, as resonances of plum and dark chocolate contrast with a bump of residual acidity.
94+ points, Eric Guido, Vinous
2022 Tenor ‘Scarline’ Syrah
Coming soon
The 2022 ‘Scarline Vineyard’ Syrah comes from this site in the Royal Slope AVA. Hedonistic and heady, this delivers mocha, black currants and Kalamatta olives on the nose alongside dusty soils and tar. The palate is beautifully structured and dense with lovely tension and a glorious core of black fruits. The salty nuances and soft mouthfeel really entice, as this is best consumed now and over the next ten plus years.
96 Points Owen Bargreen, OwenBargreen.com
A rich blend of plum and cherry sauce, sage, underbrush and blood orange smolders up from the 2022 Syrah Scarline Vineyard. This is pleasantly sweet upon entry but gains savory depth as masses of tart wild berry fruit splash across the palate, offset by hints of sour citrus and an herbal thrust toward the close. The 2022 leaves a peppery flourish and saline mineral tones, finishing structured and long with a balsamic tinge that pinches at the cheeks. This sultry Syrah spent twenty months refining in 100% new French oak, yet the integration is seamless.
95+ points Eric Guido, Vinous