Review: 2015 Mark Ryan Winery Water Witch Red Wine Red Mountain

Review: 2015 Mark Ryan Winery Water Witch Red Wine Red Mountain

Mark Ryan Winery is based in Woodinville in Washington state, and Water Witch is its latest project, a reintroduction of one of the first wines it ever created. Back in 2012, Mark Ryan partnered with Quintessence Vineyards to plant a 13.6-acre block on the south slope of Red Mountain, and the grapes are now being used to create a new release of this Bordeaux-style blend.

For the 2015 bottling, the varietal breakdown is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot?, 8% Cabernet Franc, ?and 2% Petit Verdot.

Immediately engaging and complex, this is a wine worth intense exploration — study, even. Lush with notes of currants, elderflowers, and violets, there’s a real intrigue to the wine that one rarely sees in U.S.-based Bordeaux blends (and particularly Washington wines). Silky on the tongue, those florals are intense as it leads toward a lengthy but supple finish, slightly tannic with just a hint of earth, charcoal dust, and a touch of leather. Turns out all of those notes go great with flowers, making for a beautifully balanced and complex experience.

Now available for pre-order, I highly recommend snapping it up.

A / $58 / markryanwinery.com

2015 Mark Ryan Winery Water Witch Red Wine Red Mountain

$58
9.5

Rating

9.5/10

Christopher Null is the founder and editor in chief of Drinkhacker. A veteran writer and journalist, he also operates Null Media, a bespoke content creation company.

Leave a Comment





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.