Some of the most interesting wines I’ve been coming across lately are blends. Pure varietal wines are fine, but putting together a blend allows winemakers to leverage the characteristics of different grapes to create balance and complexity.
The Concannon Conservancy Crimson & Clover is a new release from Concannon and is a petite sirah blend. Concannon has quite a history with petite sirah as they were the first to produce it in America. The blend here is 50% petite sirah, 25% cabernet sauvignon, 15% syrah and 10% zinfandel, which sounds to me like a uniquely Californian blend.
The “Crimson & Clover” name isn’t an homage to Tommy James & the Shondells or to Joan Jett. Rather, it is meant to represent the Concannon family history with wine (Crimson) and their Irish heritage (Clover). And if you didn’t know, the “Conservancy” name, which is part of a portfolio of wines at Concannon, comes from the fact that the land where the grapes are grown is part of a conservancy. Specifically, the grapes come from the Livermore Valley in the Tri-Valley Conservancy, which is an area of over 3,100 acres protected from urban sprawl by a conservation trust.
The nose on this wine is absolutely beautiful, with licorice aromatics leading the experience. It also shows some plum, candied fruits and cedar on the nose. The palate is very nice too, with a perfect blend of abundant, ripe fruit flavors and spice. The fruit shows expressions of plum and cherry, while the spice is a combo of nutmeg and black pepper. The spices really come out on the finish, which also brings out the tart side of the fruit. The mouth feel is slightly silky. This is a very approachable and exciting wine. Good stuff!
Wine: Concannon Conservancy Crimson & Clover
Variety: Petite sirah blend
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.7%
Rating: 90
Price: $18.00
Find Concannon Conservancy Crimson & Clover with Snooth
Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.
Oh, and just in case you have a certain song rolling around in your head after reading this, here you go…