It’s been years since I’ve tried Caymus’s flagship white wine, Conundrum. But when I encountered on the short wine list at San Francisco’s Ducca ($50, about double retail), I thought it might be perfect to go with our northern Italian meal. It was an excellent decision indeed.

My last encounters with Conundrum were the 1995 and 1997 vintages, and I gave high marks both times out. Conundrum is a unique blend of white wine grapes: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon, Viognier, and Muscat. You have to work to taste them all, for it’s the Viognier that really comes through the strongest and overpowers . Conundrum tastes strongly of classic Viognier: peach and apricot and a sweet honeyness that is also expressed in the wine’s rich mouthfeel. The sauvignon blanc’s crispness is also evident, as are the orange notes from the muscat and the distinct lemonness of the Semillon. Altogether it’s delicious, like eating a bowl of fresh fruit salad, sprinkled with honey.

Conundrum just about got us into trouble: My wife and I polished off the bottle, much to my shock (as it was being kept on a sidebar, in an ice bucket), before our main courses arrived. That’s a testament to how easily drinkable this wine is, and it also went a long way toward easing my mood when my secondi, a black cod fillet, turned out to be raw in the middle.

This is a wine that tastes very similar vintage to vintage, so give any recent year a try.

A / $20 to $25