For the first time ever, an Arizona wine has received a 90-point score from Wine Spectator magazine. Two wines, in fact: the 2010 Colibri Syrah Clone 174 from Page Springs Cellars near Cornville and the 2010 Colibri Vineyard Syrah (pictured) from Burning Tree Cellars near Cottonwood.
While the wineries are located in the Verde Valley about 90 miles north of Phoenix, both syrahs were made from grapes grown on the Colibri Vineyard near Portal on the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains in southeast Arizona.
Both wineries say the award-winning 2010 wines are almost gone from their respective tasting rooms. The Colibri Vineyard was damaged by fire in 2011 so there was no harvest, but Page Springs plans to release a 2012 bottling this fall.
Wine Spectator rates nearly 10,000 wines every year on a scale of 50 to 100 points. The previous high score for an Arizona wine was 89, first achieved by Three Sisters Syrah from Keeling Schaefer Vineyards. Several other Arizona wines have since scored 89 as well.
