Revisiting Washington
Woodinville
Tasted Friday, June 7, 2019 by MC2 Wines with 399 views
Introduction
A day trip to Woodinville six years ago was our first introduction to Washington wine. Since then we've expanded quite a bit outside of just US based wines and across a number of different styles, and so I was interested to see where I'd be at with these wines.
Flight 1 - Mark Ryan (10 Notes)
Lovely visit with Billy who was kind enough to open the tasting room a bit early. Great conversation and service. Had heard that MR was struggling a bit with creating a nice experience and they seem to ahve nipped that one completely in the bud. We'd visited back in 2013 and I remember really liking the wines. It's very much the more intense, more fruit forward style which I can do from time to time. I do prefer a bit more acidity though.
Flight 2 - Delille (2 Notes)
Got a chance to do a preview of the new facility. Still in progress of getting built, but can tell it will be quite special. Unfortunately didn't make it to the main tasting room to get to try things given how busy the day was, but both the rose and D2 were drinking quite well.
Flight 3 - Adams Bench (5 Notes)
Strong recommendation from a friend and I can see what he meant. Another younger producer but with access to some very interesting wines and imagine they will continue to grow into themselves.
Flight 4 - Alexandria Nicole (5 Notes)
First time with this producer and definitely an interesting visit. Really appreciated the way they are branching out with different varietals. My favorite was actually the Lemberger which isn't a grape that I've had much experience with. Interesting to try.
Flight 5 - J. Bookwalter (5 Notes)
Another recommendation from a friend. Surprised me a bit that I found myself enjoying some of the 'mid-range' wines (the beg of the Reserve tasting). The higher end ones were a bit intense for my tastes.
Flight 6 - Two Vintners (7 Notes)
My favorite of the day and a really nice surprise for me. Was very interesting to see that you can indeed take some of the more 'old world' style and apply it to the Washington grapes and the output was really compelling. Very nice.
Flight 7 - Avennia (8 Notes)
Heard a lot about this project throughout the day. Newer winery, but with access to a lot of the better vineyards given the parties involved. I think it was good, but after the more subtle style of Two Vintners this came across as a bit more intense.
Closing
Clear favorite of the day was Two Vintners. I had traditionally just known them for their whites, but should have paid more attention to the reds which were all quite well done. All of the wines certainly in the more intense format, but some of those are quite well done in that style. Also really enjoyed Delille. Wish I had made it to the main tasting room, but only so much wine that can be had during the day. Had a lovely lunch at Barking Frog. Definitely recommend the mac and cheese.
2018 Mark Ryan Viognier Yakima Valley
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley
Nice start to the day. It's always nice to ease into a day and esp around 10 am having a white as the first wine isn't a bad thing. It's nice and tart. Get some lemon peel. A bit lighter in body than some Viognier but it's still got a decent roundness to it. Nice.
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2017 Mark Ryan Syrah Wild Eyed Red Mountain
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain
Probably my favorite of all of the MR reds but that could be because I'm partial to Syrah and most of the others were Bordeaux blends. There is maybe a hint of the olive and brine notes, but I find this to be much more fruit dominant. Lots of black currants and other darker style fruits. It's riper than what I might normally drink, but not as ripe as some of the others. Could use a hint more acidity to balance it. I'd still be interested to see it with some age and see if that mutes some of it down just a touch more.
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2017 Mark Ryan The Dissident
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
65% CS plus a blend of CF, Merlot, PV. This is one of their more popular bottles of wine from the winery. At a more accessible price point than some others. It's much fruitier than the Syrah right before it. I'd say the fruit was almost skewing a touch towards the stewed style. A bit too much for me. Interesting though to try it next to the 2014 which seemed to have integrated and calmed down a bit more. Don't know enough about Washington wine to know if the difference was major differences in vintage, but suspect there is also benefit for giving this a bit of time in bottle.
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2014 Mark Ryan The Dissident
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
75% CS plus a blend of CF, Merlot, and PV. Drank next to the younger brother (2017) and I really liked what a few years did for this. It's much more integrated. A bit less intense in the fruit (although still a fruit forward wine). Lots of darker notes. It's still not quite the Syrah to me, but could see it being a nice wine with a broader group of folks where you need a wine that's at a more reasonable price point.
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2016 Mark Ryan Long Haul
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
80% Merlot and then some other Bordeaux varietals. This is very much what you think when you think of merlot - all plushy and velvet in nature. Darker red fruits. I'd like a hint of acid to create a bit more balance. It's much more mouth coating. There's something just a touch odd at the end which I couldn't quite figure out at first, but I think it's just a tail end of heat. Wonder if some of that would soften down with some more time.
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2016 Mark Ryan Cabernet Sauvignon Dead Horse
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain
The Cab dominated wine. It's interesting because this is often the wine I think of for MR as the 'flagship' and yet there are a few wines which are higher end in the tasting room. This is again quite intense and again I'd like a bit more acidity than it has. It's got a nice cranberry, spice, dust combination to it. I'm still more partial to the Syrah, but this was nice in that kindof fun fruity way.
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2014 Mark Ryan Cabernet Sauvignon Dead Horse
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain
Again it feels like the wine that has had a few more years is in a much better spot (although not sure that it wasn't that 14 was just a more moderate year in general). This was tasted next to the big brother 2016. It's a bit more muted. Bit more herbal. Still lots of black fruits. Again the spice. It's a tasty wine but in that fun and fruity way.
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2016 Mark Ryan Cabernet Sauvignon Lonely Heart
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain
This was a clear step up from the Dead Horse that we had before. More herbal, darker blackberry and maybe a touch of blueberry as well. There's this heat on most of these wines that seems to come out kindof 2/3rds of the way through the wine and detracts a bit. Would hope that would blow off with some more time.
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2016 Mark Ryan Syrah Lost Soul Red Willow Vineyard
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley
This was again the very intense style and I'd like to think that with some time it will calm down into itself a bit. There's a lot of the more intense fruit going. Some dust as well. I don't get as much of the more savory syrah notes here. It is a similar wine though to the Wild Eyed with just an extra year. Got a bottle to see how it goes.
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2018 Mark Ryan Board Track Racer "The Vincent" Rosé
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
More of the darker fruit style rose. Tangy. Some of that sweet tart style. Fruity. Fairly fresh. A bit more body to the style than I usually go for, but it does it fairly well.
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