SF Chronicle Wine Competition

2006 Caliza Syrah – “Sweepstakes Award – Best Red Wine”
2006 Caliza Syrah – “Best of Class”

The 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition took place at the Cloverdale Citrus Fair during the week of January 5, 2009. Professional wine judges representing trade, education, media, retail, and restaurants throughout the United States evaluated a record 4,736 wines entered by wineries from across the country. This is the largest wine competition for American wines in the world.

Wines were awarded as Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Double Gold (unanimous gold by the judges). In addition, there were Best of Class Awards given for each of the wine judging categories, and the prestigious Sweepstake Awards for the top Sparkling, White, Pink, Red, & Dessert/Specialty wines.

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

Issue #177 (6/30/08)
California’s Rhone Rangers

2006 Azimuth – 92 Points

Made from an intriguing blend of 51% Syrah, 19% Grenache, 14% Mourvedre, and the rest Tannat and Alicante Bouchet, the stunning 2006 Azimuth offers up scents of graphite, melted licorice, blueberries, blackberries, espresso roast, and pain grille. Its dense purple color, complex aromatics, and intense flavors suggest this full-bodied, well-structured beauty should drink nicely for 7-10 years.

2006 Companion – 90+ Points

The 2006 Companion, a striking blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre, and 10% Tannat, is the most opulent and sexiest wine of this trio. Full-bodied with plenty of smoked meat, black cherry, black currant, licorice, and incense characteristics, it is a complex, dense, chewy, rich effort that demonstrates that Paso Robles’ finest reds are often blends rather than single varietal offerings. It should drink nicely for 7-8 years.

2006 Syrah – 90 Points

The impressive 2006 Syrah Russell Family Vineyard exhibits an opaque purple color as well as beautiful aromas and flavors of blackberries. Dense, full-bodied, and voluptuously-textured, this is another mouth-filling, savory, broadly nuanced Paso Robles Syrah. Given its current accessibility, it should be performing beautifully over the next 5-7 years.