Leo Messi is known the world over as a soccer star – one of the biggest, best and brightest in the world. Five years ago, he started the Leo Messi Foundation. This charitable group focuses its energies on helping at-risk children and adolescents. The latest venture to help raise money for the foundation is a partnership with one of Argentina’s most storied family wineries, Bodega Valentin Bianchi. Leo has helped them launch two wines, both Malbecs. In early 2014 these wines will be joined by a Torrontes, the benchmark white grape of Argentina. I recently tasted the Leo wines alongside a large swath of the Valentin Bianchi portfolio. Here’s a look at them, along with one of my other favorites from the evening.
The Valentin Bianchi 2012 LEO Malbec was produced from fruit sourced in a vineyard that sits 750 meters above sea level in the San Rafael section of Mendoza. This offering is 100 percent Malbec. The fruit was hand harvested. Fermentation and maceration on the skins took place over a week in a temperature-controlled environment. Aging took place over a month with oak staves. About 35,000 six-bottle cases of this offering were produced and it has a suggested retail price of $16.99. Fresh blueberry aromas emerge from the nose of this Malbec along with a nice complement of vanilla bean. Blackberry and raspberry fruit flavor are abundant on the deep and proportionate palate which impresses with its depth and abundance of dark, brooding flavors. Plenty of spice emerges on the finish, led by the essence of gingerbread and including pepper. Medium tannins soften with air. This wine has nice structure and pairs well with an exceptionally wide array of foods. Although Malbec at this price level is often simplistic and one dimensional, this one is anything but — and handily provides lots of bang for the buck.
The Valentin Bianchi 2011 LEO Malbec Premium was produced using fruit sourced at the Doña Elsa estate in San Rafael. This wine is 100 percent Malbec. All of the grapes were manually harvested. Fermentation, which included manual pump-overs, took place over three weeks in a temperature-controlled environment. Aging took place over 12 months in a combination of new French (75 percent) and American (25 percent) oak. Another six months of bottle aging took place prior to release. About 10,000 six-bottle cases of this wine were produced and it has a suggested retail price of $29.99. The nose here is simply immense with an impressive array of dark, deep and rich aromas. Dark plum and blackberry are of note. The palate shows off black cherry, blackberry and a ton of spices such as clove, pepper and a gentle hint of cinnamon. The finish on LEO Premium is long, lusty and impressive with tons of super concentrated fruit flavors, black tea, espresso and a final wallop of chocolate-dipped-cherry flavors. This wine is riper, bigger and bolder than the other Malbec. It will pair well with full flavored foods, grilled meats and the like. Despite its relative heft this is still a proportionate wine.
When Leo Messi decided to launch a wine to raise money, he of course partnered with a winery with a long and impressive history befitting his reputation. One of the many other wines they produce which I recently tasted is the Valentin Bianchi 2006 Particular Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit for this wine came from the winery’s Asti Vineyards. In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon (85 percent), this wine also contains small amounts of Petit Verdot (8 percent) and Malbec (7 percent). Fruit was hand-picked and fermented in a temperature controlled environment. Barrel aging took place over 14 months on entirely new oak; 93 percent of the barrels were French and 7 percent American. Six months of bottle aging followed. About 400 cases of this Cabernet were released and it has a suggested retail price of $29.99. Red cherry aromas are in evidence on the nose of this Cabernet Sauvignon. The palate is loaded with a bevy of fruits and spices that all work together to form a harmonious core that is equal parts gentle and layered with tons of complexity. At 7 years old, some secondary characteristics are coming into play here, adding to the intricacy. The finish is gorgeous and persistent with black tea, chicory and a baker’s chocolate. This is an incredibly refined Cabernet for the money with impeccable structure and great body. This wine showcases the potential that Cabernet Sauvignon has in Argentina. If you love good Cabernet, this one is a steal in its price range.
This set of wines is quite delicious. Valentin Bianchi has been on my radar for quite a few years as an Argentine producer that over delivers at every price point in their portfolio. The partnership between them and Leo Messi makes perfect sense and strives to make a difference with infant health, education of kids and sports programs. So this is money which will improve quality of life for some young people, certainly a noble pursuit. As a consumer you can spend a reasonable amount of money on the LEO wines and know that you will have something delectable to drink and are also helping a worthwhile cause. Sounds like a double whammy of a win to me, or as they say, Goooooooooooaaaaaal!!!
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