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