Consensio 2008 Sangiovese – Lost Notes Found!

A week or so ago, we noted that we’d lost a series of tasting notes. Talk about deep and profound annoyances! We were doing a fast clean up and things always turn missing when that happens. The good news is that we finally found the missing notes in a bag that had gotten kicked under a table.

So here are the tasting notes for the 2008 Consensio Sangiovese:

Type: Dry red
Made with: Sangiovese
Plays well with: Meat sauces, pizza, tomato dishes

It took a few minutes for the nose on the wine to happen. There was no fruit at first, then after a few minutes of exposure to the air, there was the fruit.And there was plenty of it in the mouth, too. But fortunately, it was offset by the tannins and acids, keeping the wine from being heavy or jammy as some sangioveses can be in California. And it was bone dry with no sweetness. It’s a good gulper on its own but if you want it at its best, have it with food, maybe that traditional bolognese (tomato meat) sauce on a big old heap of really long spaghetti. And you probably want to drink it young – meaning right now or in the next year or so. At least, we think so.  Let us know whether you prefer younger or older reds and why.

Consensio Cellars

First up, we want to congratulate Shaun Frohn on his recent award in the 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Frohn is the owner and head winemaker for Consensio Cellars, out of Ventura County. His 2008 Tempranillo picked up a Double Gold Award in this prestigious competition and his 2008 Sangiovese won a Silver.

Gotta say, we agree with the judges. Frohn’s making some very tasty stuff.

What’s also interesting is how he’s doing it – via Camarillo Custom Crush Winery. We’ve known CCC owner John Daume for years. His Home Wine, Beer and Cheesemaking Shop in Woodland Hills, California, has been the sponsor and home of the Cellarmasters home winemaking club to which we belong. Daume’s CCC venture is for folks who want to make the leap into professional wine making, but don’t have the space, time, etc. to open a full-fledged winery. The label owners buy the grapes and supervise to varying degrees the custom crush winemakers, then can sell their wines under the custom crush’s licenses – because, let’s face it, the byzantine bureaucracy involved in selling anything alcoholic in this country could befuddle even the French.

Frohn not only has his Consensio label out of CCC, he’s one of the winemakers there – and one of the best, in our humble… okay, not so humble opinion. Anne thinks he’s a cutie, too. He’s just young and enthusiastic with a great sense of humor and a generous spirit. In fact, a couple years ago, we were at the CCC setting up the Cellarmasters annual wine competition, when Frohn offered us the ultimate melange of wines. It’s what he called a hose blend, all the bits and drips leftover from a recent bottling. It was amazing stuff, really. Yet another reason why we don’t get folks who insist single grape wines are the best.

So congrats, again, Shawn. Keep up the good work.