Mark Ryan Winery

Rebellious & Refined
2006 Long Haul, Dead Horse, Water Witch

Mark Ryan McNeilly's rebellious but refined 2006 Dead Horse, Long Haul, and Water Witch Bordeaux blends are here. His 2006 wines are huge, as always, and we just about dove into the glass of each wine we tasted--they're delicious now. Nobody is making Washington reds that are more compelling for the price.

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."

For More About Mark Ryan Winery, Read
Mark Ryan McNeilly... Rock & Rollin' Inspired Reds
by Tami Parr

Mark Ryan 2006 Wines

Mark Ryan Winery
Dead Horse 06 $48.95/$44.05

The nose erupts with sweet blackberries cherries, followed by nuances of baking spice. The supple but powerful entry bursts with huge blackberry, cassis, and cherry fruit, showing exceptional purity. Notes of leather, dark flowers, and pepper appear on the finish along with persistent sweet black fruit. There's an elegance rarely found in such a big wine; the oak is perfectly integrated. We all like bold wines now and then, so decant and drink your first bottle now and stash the rest away for the next decade.

The Dead Horse is our favorite Mark Ryan wine several years running. Wine critics seem to agree, and with a Wine Spectator score of 93 points for the 2005, we're sure the 2006 Dead Horse won't be galloping for long!

52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Cabernet Franc, 17% Merlot & 7% Petit Verdot Above, Mark McNeilly (at right) and friend Trey Busch (Sleight of Hand)

Mark Ryan Winery
Long Haul Red 06 $48.95/$44.05

Cabernet Franc and Merlot collide into an intensely fragrant, structured beauty. Huge red berries and red cherries build into darker shades of plum, melding with dark cocoa, smoky ancho, red licorice, graphite, and desert herb. The Long Haul 06 will show best with a couple years in the cellar and will drink well for many years to come.

Ciel du Cheval Vineyard fruit from Red Mountain: 52% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Petit Verdot.

Mark Ryan Winery
Water Witch Red 06 $48.95/$44.05

The Water Witch 06 from Mark Ryan Winery is a monster - a massive yet approachable mouthful of over the top, huge flavor.

The scent is lush- white violets, chocolate, cherry sundae, vanilla and black cherry. Flavors of black cherry, plum, and cassis mix with bittersweet chocolate, licorice, vanilla, leather, and toast. As the wine lingers and finishes, a hint of milk chocolate begins to emerge.

The 2006 Water Witch could not be more hedonistic and appealing. Highly recommended for those who like their wines huge and crowd pleasing.

The 2006 Water Witch is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot, all from Klipsun Vineyard.

Mark Ryan
Wild Eyed Syrah 06 $45.95/$41.36

Highly recommended by Avalon! Beaming, burly black plum and black berry fruit picks up leather, anise, bacon, cocoa, and black pepper moving toward the finish. Concentrated and structured, this is a Syrah that tastes better on day two, as the layers of complexity keep pulling you back for another sip.

Parker 92 points: "The 2006 Syrah Wild Eyed was aged in 90% new Burgundy barrels. It offers up an alluring bouquet of smoke, tar, meat, game, and blueberry. Supple, ripe, and sweet, with nicely concentrated spicy black fruit flavors, it has enough stuffing to evolve for 2-3 years. Drink this powerful yet elegant Syrah from 2012 to 2020."

Mark Ryan Six Pack
$278.95