92 2003 Conundrum (Conundrum Wines) 9/22/06 ($22)
13.5% alc
Color: Medium golden honey with some very small bubbles (?). Deep and pretty. (3.5) Bouquet: Orange, honey, easter lilly and lychee nut with a bright, underlying acidity that lifts it all up. (3.5) Body: Light heavyweight with excellent concentrated fruit-to-acid balance. Alcohol is present, but kept in the background. (3.0) Flavor: Parallels bouquet, but a little drier and more restrained, still strong. (3.0) Finish: Much of the complexity of the bouquet is in the background here. Although, piney, lychee nut fruit and acidity go on and on. Interesting, full and long. (3.0)
Overall: This one’s a beauty, as fine or better than the ’01 and far surpasses the ’02 and ’04. Got better and better as it warmed up, showing the elegance of this powerful wine, i.e., this is a semi-sweet CA white, not the German equivalent. A steal as long as its unique style is your cup of tea. I’ve never drunk this wine beyond about 3 years old, so I don’t know how it ages, but I would guess that it will be just fine for a few years, maybe more. (16.0)