Mark Ryan Dead Horse Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
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Dunnuck
Jeb - Vinous
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Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The 2020 Dead Horse is a large, balanced cabernet filled with baking spice and boysenberry aromas that carry through to the palate where they are joined by flavors of anise and eucalyptus. The tannins are balanced by a silky mouthfeel and the lingering finish is filled with black pepper and herbs.
Blend: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Leading off the flagship releases from this terrific estate, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Dead Horse is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, and splashes of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It's closed aromatically yet has attractive red and black fruits, some spicy, mineral notes, medium to full body, and ripe, supple tannins. I like its balance, and I suspect it will benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age. Rating: 93+
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Vinous
A mentholated mix of dried black cherries, sage and mint makes the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Dead Horse a total pleasure on the nose. This is silky smooth with cooling acidity that helps to motivate its red fruits as an air of sweet inner rose and spice forms toward the close. The 2020 cleans up beautifully through the finale, leaving subtle tannins and a contrasting mix of dark, dark chocolate and sour citrus to linger. I love the sense of refinement and purity here.
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James Suckling
Notes of dark cherries and mulberries with purple flowers, red licorice and earth. Medium- to full-bodied, chalky and velvety with a vivid, fruity finish. Drink now.
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Wine Enthusiast
When it comes to full-throttled flavor, nothing beats this Dead Horse. Blackberry jam and fig flavors fill the mouth, while touches of lemon, cinnamon toast and cedar join the fun. Aromatically, it’s all about dark plums and traces of fennel. Great acidity, sturdy tannins and much pleasure.
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Decanter
The Dead Horse is a Cabernet Sauvignon (with a few other bits and bobs) from Red Mountain. Big-shouldered and dark-fruited, this Cabernet offers up Christmas spice, jammy sweet blackberry notes and a kiss of eucalyptus. The palate is marked by ample tannins that frame black and blue berries, spiced plums and mocha powder. There is crushed basalt minerality and plenty of white and black pepper.
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Wine
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.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
A coveted source of top quality red grapes among premier Washington producers, the Red Mountain AVA is actually the smallest appellation in the state. As its name might suggest, it is actually neither a mountain nor is it composed of red earth. Instead the appellation is an anticline of the Yakima fold belt, a series of geologic folds that define a number of viticultural regions in the surrounding area. It is on the eastern edge of Yakima Valley with slopes facing southwest towards the Yakima River, ideal for the ripening of grapes. The area’s springtime proliferation of cheatgrass, which has a reddish color, actually gives the area the name, "Red" Mountain.
Red Mountain produces some of the most mineral-driven, tannic and age-worthy red wines of Washington and there are a few reasons for this. It is just about the hottest appellation 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. The low juice to skin ratio in smaller berries combined with the strong, dry summer winds, leads to higher tannin levels in Red Mountain grapes.
The most common red grape varieties here are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah, among others. Limited white varieties are grown, namely Sauvignon blanc.
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.