Once in a long, long while we will pull out a CalCab from our days as point followers back in the '90s. Last night, with a dinner of broiled rack of lamb, Jean asked for something good from the cellar, so I rooted around and found a "forgotten" bottle (more on this later):
1997 Gianni Paoletti Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley nose: pencil lead, cassis, later turning leathery palate: acidic backbone, resolved tannins, fresh fruit, balanced finishWell, well, well, this was a surprise! Not at all tired or OTH and built along very classic lines. It was a very food-friendly wine and showed few signs of its 13 years of age. All in all, it reminded me of the Cabernets of my early wine-drinking days in the late '70s, when balance and structure were far more important than they appear to be nowadays.
Back story: This bottle was forgotten because I had deleted it mistakenly from my database (leaving instead an entry from another Paoletti wine that we drank a few years ago). As I went to delete the entry, my laptop started making a funny noise and froze, resulting in a 36-hour ordeal at the end of which I have a dead laptop. Fortunately, I had backed up my wine database and most of my other important files, but it's still a grievous loss as that's where I stored all of my wine journal PDFs (View From the Cellar, Fine Wine Review, Mosel Fine Wines).
Mark Lipton