Mark Ryan 'Long Haul' Red Mountain Red Blend

Mark Ryan 'Long Haul' Red Mountain Columbia River Red Blend 2013

Following the Columbia Valley Spring Valley Vineyard Frederick Red Bordeaux Blend 2013 earlier this week, I pulled from the cellar another label from the region from the same vintage for a comparison tasting. Tonight I selected this Mark Ryan Red Mountain Red Blend, another Right Bank Bordeaux Blend. 

We discovered and acquired Mark Ryan wines when we visited their tasting room in Woodinville, WA during our Seattle Woodinville Culinary Wine Experience back in 2018.

(Son) Ryan and Linda - Woodinville, 2018

Mark Ryan McNeilly founded Mark Ryan Winery in 1999 with the goal to produce the quality wines achievable from Washington State vineyard sources. Largely self-taught, Mark learned winemaking through study and mentorship from some of the area's most experienced producers. 

Mark Ryan produces a broad portfolio of wines that can be found in distribution and are served from their tasting room in Woodinville, an epicenter of more than a hundred tasting rooms of Washington State producers, since most of the vineyards are located hours away in remote locations of Central Washington State. 

This label, Long Haul was one of his first vintage releases, produced crushed and pressed in garages of friends and family, barrel in warehouses in the Seattle area. He opened the Woodinville, WA facility in 2003.  

Like many of the Woodinville and region's producers, Mark Ryan sources its fruit from growers of the large established vineyards. Many of these are long established relationships under contracts for specific rows of a vineyard or blocks. While not Estate wines, where the grapes are sourced from producer owned sites, it offers the next best thing. This consistent sourcing is important and essential if one is to reflect Terroir, the unique essence of climate, soil, site, as it manifests itself in the wine, consistently over time, from vintage to vintage.  

The Long Haul label is a 'Right Bank' blends of Bordeaux varietals, meaning it is predominantly Merlot and Cabernet Franc making up the majority of the blend. The 2013 Long Haul is sourced from vineyards in the Red Mountain AVA in the Yakima River Valley, a Columbia River tributary in Central Washington, the smallest appellation in the state.

Despite what its name suggests, it is actually neither a mountain nor is it composed of red earth. Instead, the name is derived due to the cheatgrass which is prolific and covers the area in springtime, which has a reddish color, hence the area the name, "Red" Mountain. 

The appellation sits on the eastern edge of Yakima Valley with slopes facing southwest towards the Yakima River, ideal for the ripening of grapes and is a notable source of top quality red grapes among premier Washington producers.

Red Mountain fruit produces some of the most mineral-driven, tannic and age-worthy red wines of Washington. This is due to its terroir with a climate that is one of the hottest in the region with normal growing season temperatures commonly reaching above 90F. The soil is particularly poor in nutrients and has a high pH, which results in significantly smaller berry sizes compared to varietal norms. This results in a low juice to skin ratio in smaller berries. This combined with the strong, dry summer winds, leads to higher tannin levels in Red Mountain grapes.

Mark Ryan 'Long Haul' Red Mountain Columbia River Red Blend 2013

 

This label is comprised of fruit from three of most prolific well-known vineyards in the region. This release is composed primarily of Merlot from the legendary Ciel du Cheval Vineyard planted on calcium-rich clay beds that give the wine a rich, delicate texture and feminine aromatics. 

 

Combined in the blend are grapes from the equally renowned Force Majeure Vineyard, a relatively younger, high elevation site, which provides rich fruit with bold structure. 

 

The other vineyard source is Yakima Valley’s Red Willow Vineyard that contributes aromatics and depth and complexity to the blend. 

 

The reds of the area tend to express dark black and blue fruit, deep concentration, complex textures, high levels of tannins and as previously noted, have good aging capabilities

The blend for this release is 51% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot. It was aged in 62% new, 38% once used French Château Ferré in barrels for 21 months. A total production of 1,130 cases were released. 

Winemaker Notes: "The Long Haul offers plum, cassis, and savory aromatic probles on the nose that morphs into a lush entrance of black fruit, caramel, tea, and earth. Silky, velvety tannins combine with mid-palate structure and acidity that leads into a lengthy finish."

The 2013 Long Haul is ruby in color, darkening gradually toward the inside of the glass. Aromatically, the wine shows of brambly, wild blackberry and raspberry, along with sweet baking spices that surprises with bright cherry and darkens to a range of black fruits toward the end of the sip. Subtle minerals mingle
with the ne, dusty tannins bright acidity on the finish. 

This was rated 93 points by Wine Enthusiast.

Dark purple colored, medium full bodied, tightly wound, structured black cherry and black plum fruits open with a layer of cinnamon spice with notes of black tea, earthy tobacco and hints of caramel on the lingering tannin finish. 

RM 90 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2140079

www.markryanwinery.com

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/09/mark-ryan-columbia-valley-wine-tasting.html

https://twitter.com/MarkRyanWinery

Spring Valley Vineyard Frederick 2013

Spring Valley Vineyard Frederick 2013

For beginning of the week grilled beefsteak dinner with wedge salad and mashed potatoes, on the deck on a beautiful waning summer evening, I pulled from the cellar this Washington State Red wine from one of our favorite producers. 

We first discovered Spring Valley Vineyards (SVV) with their popular Uriah label, a Right Bank Bordeaux Blend wine a decade ago. 

We tasted and first acquired this wine during our visit to the tasting room and vineyards during our Spring Valley Vineyards Tasting and Vineyard Visit as part of our appellation visit to the Walla Walla (Washington) wine region in 2018. 

There we had the privilege of meeting Dean Derby, husband of Sharilee Corkrum Derby, who is daughter of Frederick (subject of this label) and grand-daughter of Uriah Corkrum who are featured on their labels. Dean passed on just a year ago this week.

I've featured in these pages the portfolio of Spring Valley wines with each label featuring a member of three generations of the Corkrum family reaching back to first generation founding producers Uriah and wife Nina Lee.

Our visit to the SVV tasting room in Walla Walla, then going out to the estate and seeing the magnificent vineyards amongst the barren expansive central Washington landscapes was a highlight of our Walla Walla Wine Experience in 2018.

I've written in these pages about the SVV portfolio of labels, each named after a member of the historic and colorful Corkrum family dating back three generations to the turn of the last century. 

 

 

Spring Valley Vineyards Walla Walla Frederick 2013

This label Frederick, is the Left Bank Bordeaux Blend (meaning a blend of Bordeaux varietals with a predominance of Cabernet Sauvignon, as is the custom of producers on the southern, western side of the Bordeaux Gironde River estuary) of SVV estate sourced fruit. 

It is named for and is a tribute to Frederick Corkrum, son of founder Uriah, husband to Nina Lee, who graces the Nina Lee Syrah label, and father of Sherilee Corkrum Derby, daughter, grand-daughter, third generation current owner, matriarch, and subject of the Sherrilee SVV Petit Verdot label. 

As part of proper cellar management, I pulled the oldest vintage of this label from the half dozen that we hold in our cellar, this nine year old. 

This 2013 release of this label is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This release was awarded 90 points by Wine Spectator and 89 points each by Wine Enthusiast and Wine Advocate. 

At nine years of age, the fill level, foil, label, and most importantly the cork, were all in pristine condition. 

Tonight's tasting experience was consistent with the last one in May of last year. 

Dark garnet color and medium full body, firm, bright expressive black berry and black currant fruits are accented by some red fruits, herb notes and hints of black olive tapenade on a lingering moderate tannin laced finish. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2318936

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/05/spring-valley-2013-blends-uriah-vs.html

https://www.springvalleyvineyard.com/ 

Beau Vigne Reserve Proprietary Red Wine

Beau Vigne Reserve Proprietary Red Wine 2013

This producer first caught my attention when buddy Bob brought it to our Pour Boys OTBN - "Open-That-Bottle-Night" 2022 in Charleston and I pegged it as WOTN - Wine of the Night, my personal favorite. Bob picked up the bottle at his local Total Wine beverage superstore in Boca Raton Town Center. I saw the label when there and also at the new Total Wine in Indy.

So, when son Ryan got their wine club promotional mailing and shared it I was eager to pick up a mixed case of their Signature Series Bordeaux varietals including this aged vintage release from their library close-out. My shipment just arrived and I was eager to try this. It did not disappoint.

Beau Vigne (pronounced bo-veenya), was founded by Ed and Trish Snider with their first vintage release in 2002. Translated from French it means beautiful vineyard in French.

Ed’s family has a long history in Napa Valley dating back to his Swiss Italian grandfather Martin Garzoli who arrived in Napa in 1913. He grew up on a ranch in Carneros and worked on farms in Napa and Sonoma. Martin made his own wines at home in the evenings. His son John Garzoli played for the San Francisco 49ers in 1955 and went on to coach football at St. Helena High School in the center of Napa Valley where children of many vintners attended school. A number of Ed’s former students are now in the wine industry.

In 2018, they sold Beau Vigne to Don Dady and Jason Kyle from Arizona. Jason was a former NFL football player, a long snapper for five different teams including the San Francisco 49ers. In addition to his wine interests, Jason is co-owner of Press Coffee Roasters with locations in Arizona.  Partner Dady is co-founder of Annexus, a financial company in Scottsdale and also owns Seven Apart Winery in Napa Valley just north of the city of Napa. 

Beau Vigne sourced fruit for their estate wines from their 10 acre Stags Ridge Vineyard at the top of Soda Canyon Road on the slopes of Atlas Peak at about 1650 feet elevation. The site was planted to 8 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and an acre each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Ed sold the vineyard and it is now a part of Seven Apart Winery’s estate. Beau Vigne continues to source grapes from there and other premium vineyards in Napa Valley.

Since 2019, Beau Vigne has partnered with Appellation Trading Company to distribute Beau Vigne as part of their portfolio of brands. 

Over the years, Beau Vigne has been crafted by several highly regarded Napa Valley winemakers. Their founding winemaker was Dave Phinney who went on to develop several successful brands, most notably, Orin Swift Cellars and the Prisoner portfolio of wines. One of our favorite winemakers, Kirk Venge of Venge Vineyards has also crafted Beau Vigne wines. Today the winemaker is Julien Fayard.

Originally from France, Julien began his career as a winemaker producing quality rosé at his family’s winery in Provence. He worked at legendary Chateaux Lafite Rothschild and Smith Haut Laffite in Bordeaux before relocating to Napa Valley where he was Philippe Melka’s director of winemaking for a few years before setting out on his own.

Julien earned his Master in Agri-Business from ESA France and his Master in Winemaking from Toulouse France. In 2011, he received his MBA from UC Davis. 

Recently, Beau Vigne became part of a select collection of vintners represented at Vintner’s Collective, the city of Napa’s oldest collective tasting room. They showcase wines from an elite group of premier Napa Valley producers who do not have their own tasting rooms. Select bottlings and vintages of Beau Vigne are available for tasting and purchased there. 

Beau Vigne bottles wines under three different brands; the Legacy Series, the Signature Series and the Discovery Series.

Beau Vigne Reserve Proprietary Red Napa Valley 2013

This 2013 is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Cabernet Franc. The producer cited it amongst the best wines Beau Vigne had made to date. That says a lot since Robert Parker awarded the 2013 Beau Vigne "Cult" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 96 points in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. He also awarded the Beau Vigne Reserve Cabernet from this vintage a stellar perfect 100 points.

Winemaker notes: "When tasted, it was still locked and loaded. Dense and dark, with notes of soil incense, violets, black cherry and black raspberry elements are also still present. The wine is full-bodied, opulent, with great vigor and delineation. This is a sensational example what happens after nine years in the bottle."

The Beau Vigne Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from this vintage, the same fruit that forms the foundation for this blend, was awarded 100 points by Robert Parker. 

Parker wrote about that wine: "Profound, with a stunning aromatic display of blue and black fruits, charcoal, graphite, and spring flowers. The wine has a flawless entry and mouthfeel, with a full-bodied density, opulence and an incredible finish of close to a minute."

He also awarded the 2013 Beau Vigne "Cult" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 96 points in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate . That wine too contains the same Cabernet Sauvignon as in this blend. That blend contained 98:2% while this one is 70:30. Parker wrote of that wine: "Similarly styled is the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Cult, which is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc. The biggest cuvée of any of these wines, the color is blackish/purple as a moonless night. It offers fabulous fruit and incredible density and richness, with lots of camphor, blackberry and cassis fruit, hints of espresso bean and chocolate as well as some background oak. This is a big, full-throttle, savory style of wine that should age effortlessly for 20-25+ years (RP)."

As a blend of the same fruit as those wines, it has a similar profile. Dark blackish purple colored, full bodied, dense, rich concentrated black fruits accented by a layer of camphor that initially may be a bit unnerving to some, with notes of cassis, expresso and dark bitter mocha with some graphite and oak on the full lingering finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2010086

www.beauvigne.com

 

 

Spring Valley Vineyard Derby Cabernet Sauvignon

Spring Valley Vineyard Derby Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

We enjoyed Spring Valley Vineyards Frederick Red Blend for dinner the other night. When I was pulling together info to write up my blogpost I realized it was exactly a year ago that patriarch co-owner and co-producer Dean Derby passed away.

Ironically, on the anniversary of his passing, we received our wine club allocation shipment, the 2019 release of his namesake tribute label wine, Derby Cabernet Sauvignon. Hence, we felt it only fitting to pull a bottle of Derby in tribute and remembrance of Dean, replacing the older vintage with the just arrived vintage release, as part of cellar management to drink the older bottle from our cellar collection.  

We pulled from the cellar a bottle of Derby Cabernet for dinner in a fitting tribute to Dean, whom we had the pleasure of meeting Dean when we visited the estate vineyards a few years ago during our Spring Valley Vineyards Tasting, Estate and Vineyard Visit. That was one of the highlights of our appellation visit to the Walla Walla (Washington) wine region in 2018.

Dean Derby was a bigger than life character. He was a delightful man of faith and family. 

With his family he moved to Walla Walla in 1945 where he met Shari Corkrum in the 6th grade at Sharpstein Grade School. Upon graduation from Walla Walla High School, Shari and Dean attended the University of Washington in Seattle. They were married in 1954.

In 1956 Dean Derby was captain of the University of Washington football team. He still holds the record for longest run from scrimmage for a touchdown at Husky Stadium (92 yards against Illinois).

Dean was drafted into the NFL as the 1st pick of the 4th round by the Los Angeles Rams, then traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 1st league game in September 1957. He is named All Pro Defensive Cornerback and plays 4+ years with the Steelers and 1+ years for the Minnesota Vikings.

Back at their homestead ranch in Walla Walla, Devin Corkrum Derby was born in Spring Valley to Dean and Shari in 1956. 

Dean and Shari first planted wine grapes on the ranch in Spring Valley in 1993.

Devin Corkrum Derby took over management of the ranch and winery at Spring Valley in 1999. As founding winemaker he oversaw the first crush and crafted the first wine – Uriah, a Merlot-based red blend which debuts in 2001.  This was also the first vintage release of Derby Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as the Frederick Cabernet Sauvignon-based red blend, and Mule Skinner Merlot.

Devin also designed the labels for Spring Valley’s wines. 

 

Devin Corkrum Derby was killed in a tragic car accident in 2004 and winemaking duties were taken over by assistant winemaker Serge Laville. Serge Laville was a French winemaker who had met Devin in Walla Walla and moved from France to become assistant winemaker at Spring Valley Vineyard.

 

I've written in these pages, (as late as two days ago posting) about the portfolio of Spring Valley wines with each label featuring a member of three generations of the Corkrum family reaching back to first generation founding producers Uriah Corkrum and his wife Nina Lee.

As I mentioned above, Dean Derby was husband of Sharilee Corkrum Derby, who is daughter of Frederick (subject of the label consumed the other night) and grand-daughter of founder Uriah Corkrum. Each of them are featured on SVV labels as tribute to them and features of their portfolio of estate grown varietal wines and blends. 

The SVV portfolio features estate grown Bordeuax varietals, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, as well as Left Bank and Right Bank blends. 

This label, Derby, is the Cabernet Sauvignon offering from that collection.

Spring Valley Vineyard Derby Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

For dinner, Linda prepared a home-made pizza and this wine was a wonderful accompaniment. Some Cabernet's may be too firm or structured for such a dish, better paired with a beefsteak, but this was sufficiently full and fruit forward that it was perfect. 

Label from 2016

This is 100% estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon from the Spring Valley Vineyard that lie twelve miles northeast of Walla Walla, amid the picturesque expansive wheat fields of southeastern Washington. 

 

The ranch consists of total vineyard acreage to 109 acres of grapevines including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec.

 

The vines follow the north-south slope of the hills in vertical rows that take advantage of air drainage and sunshine. Every grape cluster is tended by hand, including crop thinning, leaf pulling and harvesting.

 

The final blend was aged 19 months in French oak, 20% new

Winemaker's Notes: "As usual, a very limited number of barrels were able to go under the label 100% Cabernet Sauvignon “Derby ”. Complexity and purity is the ultimate goal for this wine. Rose petal on the
nose. Flavors are focused on ripe cherry. Intense mid pallet and finish on herbal notes."

It was rated 93 points by both Jeb Dunnuck and James Suckling, and 89 points by Sean Sullivan of Wine Enthusiast.

Bright garnet colored, medium bodied, bright vibrant blackberry, black cherry and plum flavors accented by spice notes and herbs with a long smooth polished finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3928217

https://www.springvalleyvineyard.com/