glasses at Conundrum Wine Bistro, Freeport Maine, again

Family matters have kept me from Conundrum Wine Bistro in Freeport, Maine, a wonderfully eclectic restaurant with a fabulous, eccentric wine list, full of aged vintages at reasonable (usually about retail) prices. They feature 40 wines by the glass and half glass and have about 500 by the bottle. If you go, it’s best to visit the wine room with Vinnie, the owner (he’s always there) and discuss with him… the vintages on the list are not always the vintages available, although for top wines it’s usually accurate. Vinnie will keep showing you things related to what you asked for and keep trying to downsell you (“Wow, that Ridge Zinfandel is great at $44, but look at this Nalle for only $29!”).

The food is always really good, with a wide range of dishes and prices. This is where the word ‘eclectic’ comes in, but everything always seems to fit.

I started with crostini with prosciutto and whipped feta with chives and pimentos. Jeff had a beet salad and Sally had butternut squash soup with chickpeas and a touch of red chili.
My dinner was a half rack of bbq ribs. Jeff had spaghetti bolognese and Sally a brined pork chop. Everything was very good to excellent.

I was the only person drinking, and had five half-glasses (Jeff driving back). The pours are 2.5 ounces or 5 ounces. The prices quoted are for the full 5 ounce glasses. It was a long, tough day and I was glad not to have to cook or do dishes. As a consequence, notes are abbreviated and scores very approximate.

2015 Chateau Trebiac Graves Blanc - $6 – Light, grassy, figgy, balanced. Lacks a little intensity, rated 86 – 87, should improve a point in a year.

2015 Rombauer Chardonnay Carneros - $10 – Nicely ripe and balanced, with a good mix of apple and pear. Very mainstream, very good. Still a little young and primary. Rated 88 – 89, should improve a point over the next few years.

2012 Vignette Pinot Noir Willamette Valley - $10 – Lovely cherry aromas, satisfyingly light and also satisfyingly mouthfilling, in fact almost hefty, an excellent example of subtle, savory Oregon Pinot Noir. Rated 91.

2011 Corte alla Flora Barbaresco – $11 - OK, know nothing about this, apparently a Tuscan producer with a negociant arm. But better than OK by me. Classic if faint aromas of plums with maybe some roses. Light to medium bodied palate with the fresh crisp fruit and delicate backbone I want in entry-level Barbaresco. Rated 89, up to 2 points of improvement probable over the next few years.

2010 Chateau Seuil Graves Rouge - $10 – Last half-glass and a slight letdown after the Barbaresco. Faint aromas are simply plummy, the palate is a little closed and sullen, medium bodied with good plum fruit along with some red cherries and some earthiness, but rather obtrusive tannins. This obviously still needs time. That’s logical, but I had irrationally hoped for something more open and lush. Rated 86 – 87 today, up to two points of improvement possible over the next few years.

I’m not heading into the bottle list when I’m the only drinker, but for example they have 2000 Lafite for $1K, 2000 Bahans Haut-Brion for $100 with 1997 Dominus at $230. If you are in Maine and inclined towards spending serious coin on wine, the provenance and condition are impeccable and the food is good enough to merit the high roller bottles.

Dan Kravitz

Dan…THANK YOU!!! I’ve never heard of this place before…but it sounds like a good reason to go to Freeport. Where in the town is it?

Hi Kirk,

It’s on the southern outskirts, on Route 1 parallel to I295. It is directly under a 50’s attraction that parents tell their children is named the ‘BFI’ or ‘Big Friendly Indian’. If you get off of 295 at Desert Road (the last Freeport exit), it’s 2 miles down US1.

Dan

Wow. Your post came a few days too late for me, sadly. This place sounds great. We drove right past Freeport Tues at the tail end of our Maine-Maritime Provinces vacation. No plans to return, but this will be on the list if I do.

[quote=“Dan Kravitz”]Family matters have kept me from Conundrum Wine Bistro in Freeport, Maine, a wonderfully eclectic restaurant with a fabulous, eccentric wine list, full of aged vintages at reasonable (usually about retail) prices. They feature 40 wines by the glass and half glass and have about 500 by the bottle. If you go, it’s best to visit the wine room with Vinnie, the owner (he’s always there) and discuss with him… the vintages on the list are not always the vintages available, although for top wines it’s usually accurate. Vinnie will keep showing you things related to what you asked for and keep trying to downsell you (“Wow, that Ridge Zinfandel is great at $44, but look at this Nalle for only $29!”).

The food is always really good, with a wide range of dishes and prices. This is where the word ‘eclectic’ comes in, but everything always seems to fit.

I started with crostini with prosciutto and whipped feta with chives and pimentos. Jeff had a beet salad and Sally had butternut squash soup with chickpeas and a touch of red chili.
My dinner was a half rack of bbq ribs. Jeff had spaghetti bolognese and Sally a brined pork chop. Everything was very good to excellent.

I was the only person drinking, and had five half-glasses (Jeff driving back). The pours are 2.5 ounces or 5 ounces. The prices quoted are for the full 5 ounce glasses. It was a long, tough day and I was glad not to have to cook or do dishes. As a consequence, notes are abbreviated and scores very approximate.

2015 Chateau Trebiac Graves Blanc - $6 – Light, grassy, figgy, balanced. Lacks a little intensity, rated 86 – 87, should improve a point in a year.

2015 Rombauer Chardonnay Carneros - $10 – Nicely ripe and balanced, with a good mix of apple and pear. Very mainstream, very good. Still a little young and primary. Rated 88 – 89, should improve a point over the next few years.

2012 Vignette Pinot Noir Willamette Valley - $10 – Lovely cherry aromas, satisfyingly light and also satisfyingly mouthfilling, in fact almost hefty, an excellent example of subtle, savory Oregon Pinot Noir. Rated 91.

2011 Corte alla Flora Barbaresco – $11 - OK, know nothing about this, apparently a Tuscan producer with a negociant arm. But better than OK by me. Classic if faint aromas of plums with maybe some roses. Light to medium bodied palate with the fresh crisp fruit and delicate backbone I want in entry-level Barbaresco. Rated 89, up to 2 points of improvement probable over the next few years.

2010 Chateau Seuil Graves Rouge - $10 – Last half-glass and a slight letdown after the Barbaresco. Faint aromas are simply plummy, the palate is a little closed and sullen, medium bodied with good plum fruit along with some red cherries and some earthiness, but rather obtrusive tannins. This obviously still needs time. That’s logical, but I had irrationally hoped for something more open and lush. Rated 86 – 87 today, up to two points of improvement possible over the next few years.

I’m not heading into the bottle list when I’m the only drinker, but for example they have 2000 Lafite for $1K, 2000 Bahans Haut-Brion for $100 with 1997 Dominus at $230. If you are in Maine and inclined towards spending serious coin on wine, the provenance and condition are impeccable and the food is good enough to merit the high roller bottles.

Dan Kravitz[/quote

Wow all whole # ratings, no decimals,

Well, wouldn’t want to overdo it!

Thanks for the report, Peter. I think you’ve mentioned this place before. I’m not sure why I’ve never checked it out. It’s right around the corner from our YMCA. But it sounds great, and I love the idea of a high quality wine bistro existing in such a random location just off the interstate under the watchful gaze of the 50-foot tall Big Indian statue. It’s especially convenient to the frozen custard stand across the road.

Kirk, take exit 20 and head south on Route 1 (or exit 17 and head North).

Jay, it’s Dan Kravitz’ report. I was just making a snarky comment! But it does sound good, have to check it out next summer.

Ron, as noted it was a rough day and so the scores are very approximate. My apologies, next time I’m back in calmer times I will give a better report.

The location does seem random, the food is random (you never know what will be on the menu, or what ethnicities will be presented… I’ve been here a dozen or more times and never saw bbq on the menu before), the quality is NOT random, as consistently fine as you could want.

Vinnie also breaks the Maine mold in other ways. It is not a tourist destination. Summers are slow for him, his biggest month is November and his biggest day of the week is Thursday. Please note that he closes for ~?2 months?~ in January and February, a damned shame, right in the middle of scallop season.

A wholly original place, and if you go just please don’t buy up the last bottle of '00 Bahans Haut Brion because it’s a special occasion treat for our wine-savvy guests. Yeah, '00 Lafite is a terrific value at $1000 in a restaurant, but not for me.

Dan Kravitz

Shoot, sorry to you both. I’m going to try to get up there sometime this week and will report back.

Let us know what you think. I hope I’m not too biased and it doesn’t disappoint (unlikely). If there’s a pizza, it’s usually extraordinary. Pork chop and fried chicken are also standouts, but no way of knowing what will be on the menu on any given day.

I’d never seen bbq on the menu before. While I was happy with it, it’s not their strong suit. I suspect that Vinnie might be of Italian origin, which might help explain the greatness of the pizza if not of the fried chicken.

Dan Kravitz