In no particular order and food left out due to hastily scribbled or no notes over the holidays:
Clos L'Oratoire Des Papes 1998 Chateaunneuf-du-Pape - 80% grenache, sexy fruit, pepper and spice. Ready to drink and delicous, although more on the lighter side than most 1998 CDP's.
Ravenswood 2000 Vintners Blend Zinfandel (Sonoma) - Simple, yet satisfying Zin with a lot of nice fruit. Nice value wine, in my opinion.
Cline 1999 Small Berry Mourvedre (Contra Costa County) - Star of the Holidays for me. Deep, dark purple color that seemed to cling to the sides of the glass. Very concentrated overall with intense berry, eucalyptus (anise?), herbs, chocolate and vanilla. Still fairly tannic, though, so I will hold off on opening any more for a few years. This is one excellent wine. Made from a single 6 acre vineyard with very low yields (I believe
1.25 tons/hectare?).
Justin 1998 Justification (Paso Robles) - 66% Cab Franc, 34% Merlot. Medium purple color. The Cab Franc really comes to the forefront on this one. Strong olive, and medium berry and vanilla flavors. I was actually a little disappointed with this one, expecting a more concentrated and complex wine, but still good overall.
Georges DuBoeuf 2001 Beaujelouis Fleurie - Good overall - that's all I remember.
We also opened a few other value wines of no consequence, and I did venture into the world of Cognac and Single Malt Scotch, too. The Cognac did not impress me as much as the scotch. The range and strength of flavors in the scotch reminded me of a delicious wine. I believe I see more scotch in my future.
Happy Holidays,
Dark Helmet