Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The aromas bring plenty of appeal, with notes of honeysuckle, flower, whole pear, crushed rock and peach, bringing a sense of nuance. The palate is full but crisp in feel, showing a lovely sense of tension and depth, along with lively acidity. Structure, balance, depth, intensity, dexterity. Editors’ Choice.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from a mix of sites in the Yakima Valley, the 2018 Viognier offers pretty pineapple and Meyer lemon notes as well as a medium-bodied, juicy, lively style on the palate. It's going to put on weight with another 6 months to a year of bottle age and will shine for 2-3 years. It's a beautiful expression of the variety.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Viognier has expressive floral aromas on the nose, along with a fresh ripeness and clean core with mineral tension, peaches, sweet apple and honeysuckle notes. The wine is medium to full-bodied and clean on the palate, while the finish is pure and displays the soft phenolic bitterness one would expect from Viognier. The freshness is expressive without being overly floral and perfumed, as Viognier can sometimes be. Only 550 cases made.
Over a decade later, Mark Ryan Winery has grown in size, earned acclaim from wine-lovers and critics alike, and garnered respect from the state's elite producers. The goal, however, remains the same. Make delicious wines that represent the vineyard from which they come, making every vintage better than the last.
Full-figured and charmingly floral, Viognier is one of the most important white grapes of the northern Rhône where it is used both to produce single varietal wines and as an important blending grape. Look for great New World examples from California, Oregon, Washington and cooler parts of Australia. Somm Secret—Viognier plays a surprisingly important role in the red wines of Côte Rôtie in the northern Rhône. About 5% Viognier is typically co-fermented with the Syrah in order to stabilize the color, and as an added benefit, add a subtle perfume.
As the first recognized wine-growing region in the Pacific Northwest, Yakima Valley is centrally located within Washington’s vast Columbia Valley. The region also includes Washington’s oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines, Otis Vineyard, planted in 1957, and Harrison Hill Vineyard, planted in 1963. Yakima Valley contains three smaller sub-regions: Rattlesnake Hills, Red Mountain, and Snipes Mountain and is ideal for both red and white wine production. In fact, Yakima Valley is Washington’s most diverse region, boasting more than 40 different grape varieties over about one hundred miles.
The cooler parts of the valley are home to almost half of the Chardonnay and Riesling produced in the state! Both are made in a wide range of styles depending on the conditions of the vineyard site.
But its warmer locations yield a large proportion of Washington’s best Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. The finest Yakima Valley reds are jam-packed full of red cherry, currant, raspberry or blackberry fruit, as well as cocoa, herb, spice and savory notes, and exhibit a supple texture, great body, focus and length.