Motley Cru

Our friends Todd and Corrine came over last night and we grilled some steaks and opened some wine.  Had a ’05 Groth Reserve, which was surprisingly good given the most recent notes I could find online.  The ’99 Spottswoode, however, was substantially better, especially given the context of the vintage.  I will say that I’ve enjoyed several of the ’99s from the better producers–enough so that I sort of wish I had more ’99s in the cellar.  The final wine was an ’06 Martinelli Jackass Zinfandel.  Kind of syrupy and not at all complex, completely missing the “bite” that I like to find in Zinfandel.  Not as lame as the Vigneto di Evo from a few years ago, nor as so-bad-I-need-to-pour-it-down-the-sink as the ’00 Jackass, but kind of disappointing, especially given the reviews.  All in all an enjoyable evening, however, and not often do I get to taste three wines midweek