A man bet on a horse.
Maybe he acted on a hot tip, perhaps he just picked up a little luck on the way to the track, but the horse, named Stymie, outpaced the pack. The man won big — enough to pack up his family and move from New York to San Francisco.
To honor his father’s gamble, Jed Steele created the Steele Stymie label, a label limited to Merlot and Syrah, set aside from the best barrels after hours of painstaking effort.
“We do a lot of tasting,” said Steele’s Dave Ostberg with a chuckle, explaining the selection process.
The work — if that’s the correct word — pays off well.
Even on the nose, Steele Stymie’s 2012 Syrah is not afraid to flex. Aromas of stewed blueberry, fresh blackberry and curing fig lift from the glass. Hints of black licorice, toasted nutmeg, clove and chocolate covered fruit drift behind.
The bouquet promises a robust wine, one that will never back down from a challenge. Yet it also reveals a sophisticated side — a gentle touch of vanilla, a flutter of split balsa and a hint of lightly cured tobacco.
It shows impressive depth, even before the first sip.
The berries drape across your palate as if they own it — plush and purposeful. Muscular ripples of leathery tobacco, the fatty lap of prosciutto, a wisp of smoked spice follow. For a moment, it is a brawny wine.
Again, however, Steele Stymie’s Syrah also allows itself to flash a hopeful, uplifting smile. Smooth chocolate swirls with cool vanilla and soft spice. Meanwhile a tart, almost citric note trills overhead.
The finish is long, trading on the wine’s gentility.
This is a remarkable wine, brooding and intent, bright and lively.
“It has a lot of potential to age, as well as being good now — the best of both worlds,” Ostberg observed.
The Steele Stymie 2012 Syrah is a wine that strides into a clandestine betting house, plunks its money down with confidence, brushes off threatening glances then glides across the tracks and settles comfortably into a swanky steakhouse lounge.
Sharing that long tradition of taking a risk and reaping a reward — or in this case passing it on to those who favor wine — the Kelseyville winery also released their 2014 Steele Cabernet Sauvignon.
Yes, it is still quite young. However, the wine is flush with ripe fruit. They swell from the glass in the form of bright plum, bursting blackberries dropping from the vine, all balanced by blooming roses rising from a mulched bed.
Each sip is equally exuberant — fresh red cherry, plum and berry tossed in a bowl, dusted lightly by black pepper. You almost miss the Cabernet’s tannic structure, the aspect that will carry the bottle for years to come.
For Ostberg, releasing the 2014 was more of a necessity than a risk.
“It means we’re out of the other vintages,” he said. “That’s a good problem to have.”
Over the past few years, Steele’s Cabernet sourced from the Red Hills, has become one of the winery’s most popular bottles. And even though Ostberg recommends allowing it to sit, the cheerful fruits and carefree banter pepper and earth make it purely enjoyable now.
“The fruit’s accessible,” Ostberg agreed. “And a little decanting goes a long way.”
And either way, it’s a sure bet.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
