A Conundrum

Conundrum wines; according to the dictionary a conundrum is a riddle in which a fanciful question is answered by a pun, or a paradoxical, insoluble and difficult problem or a dilemma. So why give a wine or as in this case, a wine blend, such an esoteric name as Conundrum? A little investigation gave us the answer; the makers never tell exactly what the blend is or, as in the case of the Conundrum Red, they do not even hint at what grapes were used.

The real fun with the Conundrum blends is trying to determine exactly what grapes were used in the making of these wines. That however, could possibly take forever, a lot of sampling and there is no way of telling if you are right or wrong because the winemakers ain’t talking. In spite of the name and the riddle of the the grapes, the Conundrum wines are quite good and definitely a conversation maker.

Conundrum 2012 White Blend ($22). This wine must be good because the Wagner Family has been making this specific blend for over 20 years, and if that is not a clue to its success, nothing is. We learned that the grape varieties used were Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Muscat Canelli and Viognier, but, as label says, the exact proportions ”are proprietary” and that simply means it’s a secret. This lightly sparkling wine opens with the aromas of green apple (Chardonnay?) tropical fruit (Semillon?), and honeysuckle (Muscat Canelli?) with a suggestion of lime zest (Sauvignon Blanc?). The flavor offers layers of peach, apricot, (Viognier or Chardonnay?), melon and pear (Sauvignon Blanc?). After all of this guessing, the wine then trails to a very fruitful finish. All in all, including the fun of guessing the makeup of the blend, the Conundrum 2012 White Blend is a very enjoyable wine that can serve as a mealtime beverage or an aperitif.

Conundrum 2012 Red Blend ($22). This wine is a true conundrum because we have no idea what grapes were used or their percentages; so we will guess. but please, don’t consider our guesses as gospel, they are just guesses. This wine presented a deep dark ruby color (Zinfandel?). which introduces the aromas of blackberry (Malbec or Pinot Noir?), raspberry (Zinfandel?), rhubarb (Zinfandel or Merlot) and Cola (Pinot Noir?). The flavor shows black cherry (Pinot Noir?), plum (Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot?) and pomegranate (Sangiovese or Malbec?). The finish is long and fruity with hints of cinnamon (Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot?) and lavender (Syrah?). This wine also exhibits oak and vanilla resulting from aging in oak barrels, but we are not even going to try to guess the type of oak used to make the barrels. After all that guessing, and we invite you to prove us wrong, the wine is a terrific example of what blending can do. This is a delightful and enjoyable wine, but the conundrums can drive you nuts.

Meiomi 2012 Pinot Noir ($22). After sending your minds into a whirl with the Conundrum wines, how about we get back down to Terra Firma with a Pinot Noir from the same winery. Pronounced “may-oh-mee”, which means “coast” in the language of the native Californian Wappo tribe. The grapes for this wine we sourced from specific vineyards in Monterey, Santa Barbara and Sonoma Counties, all of which all border the Pacific coast, thus the name. This wine is big, very big and a beautiful example of what an almost perfect California Pinot Noir should be like. The aroma presents summer berries, cranberry, candy apple and vanilla, with a hint of malt. The flavor is mirrored by the aroma with the addition of the flavors of cream soda and cherry cola. The finish is multifaceted and is so complex that it defies description, but one can detect, among the fruit and oak, an interesting and definitely memorable earthy under flavor. This is an excellent wine that we believe, because of its complexity, should be added to the others under the Conundrum label.