Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/343109
102 / the tasting panel / july 2014 RED SOLES Before you taste with Randy Phillips, winemaker and proprietor of Red Soles Winery, he'll want to point out his medals. Dozens of ribbons line the back wall; another set of medals hangs from the rafters. Red Soles rakes in the kudos: To date, the wines have earned 47 medals in 2013 alone from California's top competitions, including a Gold for his Syrah from the San Francisco International Wine Competition. "We've never not received a gold medal for our Cabs in any one given year," Phillips is proud to say, referring to the beginning, when he first made wine in 2005. The wines are all estate-grown in the Templeton Gap, a windy, cooler Paso Robles growing area marked by roll- ing hills and limestone shale soils. Even so, with 11 new highly specific sub-AVAs being proposed for Paso (see sidebar on p. 104), the area that Red Soles occupies will soon be known as Paso Robles Willow Creek District, with the official Templeton Gap AVA to the southeast. Prestigious neighbors include L'Aventure and Saxum. With vines planted to future award-winning wines from such varieties as Tempranillo, Petite Sirah, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Chardonnay, the Miracles Ranch, Red Soles home estate vineyard, is surely answering Phillips's prayers. Red Soles Winery 2010 Barrel Select Cabernet Sauvignon, Miracles Ranch, Paso Robles ($60) offers up big-flavored brandied cherries, rhubarb and an orange peel back. It's rich with vanilla and cocoa notes and a hint of oak. Randy Phillips is proprietor and winemaker of Red Soles.