Mark Ryan Winery
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Mark McNeilly - tiny amounts of wine with complexity and depth, and funny names. Tobacco, mineral, mocha flavors, all made in a garage in Bellevue, Washington. Long Haul is a red blend named for the long drive across the Snoqualmie Pass in a rickety Ford truck full of grapes; Dead Horse is another red blend, made entirely from grapes from Ciel du Cheval (Horse heaven) Vineyard. McNeilly’s goal is to fashion flavorful, even-handed wines expressive of the region where the grapes originate. Classics Dead Horse and Long Haul are almost universally described as variations of “big” and “ripe,” labels which he agrees with wholeheartedly. “I definitely make my wine in a riper style; I keep the fruit on a little bit longer. But even though they may be big and ripe, they’re not out of balance.” McNeilly began producing white wines in 2005. “White wine is fun,” he laughs. “I know people are kind of surprised at the whites.” Surprised indeed – by their nuanced subtlety. He’s currently marketing both a Viognier and a Chardonnay. He traces his interest in developing Chardonnay in particular back – once again – to the Burgundy region of France. “Burgundy is the most special place in the world. I tried to model my Chardonnay after some of those wines.” The Viognier, currently made with grapes from Ciel du Cheval vineyard was developed in 2006 in two styles, one fermented entirely in steel and the other in oak. Mark Ryan New Releases Fall 2007
Mark Ryan Dead Horse Red 05 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard fruit from Red Mountain. a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot, and 6% Petit Verdot. Nose of toasted sweet black cherry, bing cherry, buttery coffee bean, tar, adn black plum. Flavors are giant, balancing big, fine grained tannins that blow off quickly to show black cherry, plum, sweet fruit, toasted espresso bean, and licorice. Tannins are quite youthful, balanced by a lively acidity and big fruit. the wine will definitely cellar well, is quite youthfulo at release. Tasted before release, this youthful wine shows tremendous promise. Five days after opening, the wine softened into a magnificent Bordeaux style red that lasts almost as long in memory as the finish does in the mouth.
Mark Ryan Long Haul Red 05 A dark monster of a wine- closed, massive, monumental. Nose has toasted espresso bean, sweet spice, black currant, black plum, black cherry liqueur. Flavors are of black cherry, plum, black currant, with dense notes of licorice, slate, pencil lead, and smoke. Tannins are a tad intense and youthful but smooth and balanced by the huge, huge fruit. Overall, very young with intense tannins offset by succulent black plum, cassis, back cherry, pepper, licorice, and tar. Balanced acidity leavens the huge fruit, imparting a refreshing element to the finish.
Mark Ryan Water Witch Red Klipsun Vineyard Red Mountain 05 Klipun Vineyard Merlot blend: 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Nose- bittersweet chocolate and black cherry with a subtle undercurrent of white flowers. Flavors- Rich, lush black cherry candy flavors - bing cherry, hints of raspberry, sweet fruit, toasted bittersweet cocoa beans. Finish is long, long, long with more sweet cherry, sweet raspberry, and chocolate. Silky, well integrated tannins and a balanced acidity add a refreshing lift to a massive, lucculent, over-the-top velvety red.
The winemaker is remarkably modest about his winemaking, and seems oblivious to the "buzz" about his wines. Mark says: "I believe Ciel du Cheval to be one of best vineyard sites in Washington. Consistently, Ciel du Cheval is one of the warmest vineyards in the state and this allows for big, ripe, elgant wines with great structure, balance and complexity. NO HORSES WERE HURT DURING THE PRODUCTION OF THIS WINE AND IT WAS TESTED ON HUMANS!" Kudos Seattle Times said: "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
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