The Leer Vineyards Heroic Red is a non-vintage blend of 58% Syrah, 29% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from several California grape growing AVA’s. That is the particulars on this bottle of wine, but that is not the story here. The Leer Family and Leer Vineyards (Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay region) created the Heroic Red to help the Military Warriors Support Foundation provide mortgage free and tax-free homes to wounded combat veterans. It takes 10,688 bottles sold to provide a home and to-date 3 homes have been awarded and they currently are about 1,300 bottles away for a 4th home. This is not the only “good deed” wines that Leer Vineyards provide, they also do The Special Kids Blend for children with disabilities and The CoCo Blend to support rescue dogs.
The color is a dark, barely see-thru plum red. The nose is blackberry, chocolate brownie, pepper, brown sugar, smoke from the BBQ and blueberry. This is a rich, smooth Red blend, with a good deal of length. It tastes of blackberry, Dove dark chocolate, ripe plums and raspberry. The mid-palate brings a hit of exotic spice and licorice. The tannins are there, you can sense them, but they don’t get in the way. The acidity is well-balanced and provides a solid structure to help the flavors unfold. The finish is full and lengthy. I opened the bottle a half hour before tasting, thinking this is a non-vintage charity wine, there should be nothing too complex in the bottle. But, I think some of the grapes in the blend saw oak barrel aging, so open this bottle early and give it time for the flavors to open.
The Leer Vineyards Heroic Red is a tasty and reasonably complex Red blend, it is well worth drinking even if it wasn’t providing help to American heroes. The distribution for the Heroic Red is spotty, you can find it at Wal-Mart stores in Texas and at wine shops in California, the sure place to find it is here.
And if you can afford 10,688 bottles, you can do something awesome for a wounded Vet and maybe throw a hell of party for your friends.
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