Guardian Gun Metal Red 04 (03 was Mark Ryan Winery)
Mark Ryan offshoot Guardian Cellars was formed by Jerry Riener and Mark McNeilly, who work together at Mark Ryan Winery.
Avalon tasting notes: Wow! An intense nose, redolent of cedar, black cherry, persimmon, and red currant introduces this big Cabernet Sauvignon blend. Flavors of black cherry and black currant mingle with a unique jammy note of marionberry and plum. Silky tannins flavored with white pepper and cedar finish the wine. Aged for 30 months in 60% new oak, the lengthy time in barrel shows in the complexity and smooth finish. 58 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 percent Merlot and 12 percent Cabernet Franc, all sourced from Conner Lee Vineyard.
Detailed Info, Previous Vintage Notes, Reviews:
2003 Vintage Tasting Notes
Back in stock! (1-10-06)
Opaque wine, huge bouquet of alpine strawberries (!!), toasted espresso, mocha/cocoa, cinnamon, smoke, and licorice, yet a bit more sophisticated and polished than the other red blends from this highly regarded "garagiste". Flavors are of black cherries, blackberries, black currant, coffee, licorice, and herbs. A solidly structured wine with a mouth-filling, lengthy finish. 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc from Conner Lee Vineyard.
A September 2005 Avalon Wine Big Reds Club Selection, this wine was a hit with Club Members.Sold out, info here for reference only. Sorry.
Seattle Times said: "Also in his fourth vintage, winemaker Mark Ryan McNeilly has added two new red blends to his lineup. The 2003 Gun Metal Red is lush but not jammy, showing classic herbal-cabernet notes along with bacon and smoke, cedar and plum. There is also a wonderful new 2003 Bad Lands Red blended from Red Mountain syrah and petit verdot. The benchmark Long Haul and Dead Horse reds will be released later this fall. These are clearly the best wines yet from an important new winery. Beautiful packaging also." Paul Gregutt, 10-6-05
I have had two opportunities to enjoy this fantastic wine. Each time I find subtleties and flavors that I had not previously discovered. This wine has a... more...
