Wine Review - 2005 Keswick Vineyards Consensus

We purchased this wine in June from Keswick Vineyards while we were there for a tasting. I wrote about the visit back in July I think – here is the link. It was part of a big day of wine tasting and lunch at the Palladio Restaurant.

We happened to be in the Keswick area this past weekend (after apple picking at Graves Mountain Lodge) and stopped by the winery on our way home to Richmond for a little wine tasting. In doing so, when we got to the 2005 Consensus, we remembered how impressed with it we were and also remembered that we still had a bottle at home. Funny coincidence also that day – we happened to run into our friends Paul and Warren from Virginia Wine Time. So, we all enjoyed the tasting together and afterwards enjoyed a bottle of Viognier while we chatted about all things wine.

So the next night we opened a bottle of Consnesus to have with our “famous” homemade veggie pizza.

Here is a little background on the 2005 Keswick Consensus.

The 2005 Consensus is blended solely by members of the Keswick wine club. This wine is a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc, 30% Syrah, and 20% Petite Verdot. The wine was fermented in stainless steel, and aged in 2 and 3 year old French and American Oak. It was bottled in February of this year and total case production was only 245.

My Tasting Notes:

Nose – Blackberry, Cherry, Smoke (kind of like diluted liquid smoke that you can buy for grilling), and hazelnut

Taste – Cocoa, Black Cherry, and Sautéed green peppers

Mouthfeel – Great body / weight on the palette – smooth tannins with a balanced acidity – slight bit of spiciness towards the finish, - maybe from the American Oak

Finish – nice length, between 45 seconds to a minute

Megan and I were very impressed by this wine and it is another example that Virginia can make good red wine. At $20.95 it is not cheap but I think that the wine definitely merits the quality to justify the price. The Consensus doesn’t have the tannins to stick around in the cellar for more than a couple years so if you pick up a bottle I would recommend drinking it right now. That being said it does have the backbone to deal with heavier Italian dishes that feature robust cheeses but probably not big enough to have with a juicy steak – not that I would know being a veg head.

If you have had this or if you have it in the future, shoot me a line and let me know what you think.