Philip Togni Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2014

Philip Togni Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2014

  • icon-type Type

    Red

  • icon-year Year

    2014

  • icon-style Style

    Dry

  • icon-country Country

    USA

  • icon-alcohollevel Alcohol level

    14.5%

  • icon-grapevariety Grape variety
    Cabernet Sauvignon 100%
  • Rating

    AG 96, RP 96

A true Napa legend, the Philip Togni Vineyard Cabernet is an age-worthy, classic style of California Cabernet. Each bottle has decades of potential and shows unmistakable high-elevation, mountain character.

The estate Cabernet is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with about 15% Merlot and Petit Verdot, cofermented. Vineyards are volcanic soils with some granite, quartz and clay.

Aged in about 40% new Bordeaux barrels with the rest being 1 year old. "In our own tastings of the 2014, it is hard to see any way in which it is any less a wine than the 2013, but time will tell. The weather in 2014 was fairly normal, though with underlying drought conditions. Some spring rain required additional work in the vineyard, while adequate heat led to a harvest beginning on 15th September." - Philip Togni

About Philip Togni Vineyard

Philip Togni Vineyard is a Napa Valley producer, located 2000ft (600m) above sea level on a 4-hectare (10-acre) parcel on the Spring Mountain District sub-appellation. A small, family-run operation, the winery is self-contained, meaning that everything from vineyard management to winemaking, bottling, and shipping is done directly by Philip, his wife Birgitta, and their daughter Lisa. Philip Togni's age worthy Bordeaux style red blend is an excellent example of Spring Mountain Cabernet.

Togni was born and raised in England, and attended the University of Bordeaux where he studied under modern winemaking pioneer, Emile Peynaud. He went on to become the winemaker at Chalone Winery and made the famous 1969 vintage of Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon. He bought the Spring Mountain property in 1975, and planted it in 1981, with Birgitta attending to the vineyard, while Philip made the wine. Their first vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc were released in 1983. Today, daughter Lisa is the lead winemaker, after gaining much experience working harvests at Château Léoville-Barton in Saint-Julien, as well as in Australia.

Since the first release, Philip Togni has shifted focus to producing a Margaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. Characteristic of Spring Mountain, the wine is quite tannic in its youth, and shows its elegance with age. For the impatient, the second label Tanbark Hill is a Cabernet Sauvignon blend made from younger vines on the property, and is more approachable in its youth. Additionally, there is a sweet wine in the style of Constantia called Ca' Togni. Total production at the winery is roughly 2000 cases each vintage.

Grape variety
Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognised red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon became internationally recognised through its prominence in Bordeaux wines where it is often blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. From France and Spain, the grape spread across Europe and to the New World where it found new homes in places like California's Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Napa Valley, New Zealand's Hawkes Bay, South Africa's Stellenbosch region, Australia's Margaret River and Coonawarra regions, and Chile's Maipo Valley and Colchagua. For most of the 20th century, it was the world's most widely planted premium red wine grape until it was surpassed by Merlot in the 1990. However, by 2015, Cabernet Sauvignon had once again become the most widely planted wine grape.

Despite its prominence in the industry, the grape is a relatively new variety, the product of a chance crossing between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc during the 17th century in southwestern France. Its popularity is often attributed to its ease of cultivation - the grapes have thick skins and the vines a re hardy and naturally low yielding, budding late to avoid frost and resistant to viticultural hazards such as rot and insects - and to its consistent presentation of structure and flavours which express the typical character ("typicity") of the variety. Familiarity and ease of pronunciation have helped to sell Cabernet Sauvignon wines to consumers, even when from unfamiliar wine regions.

The classic profile of Cabernet Sauvignon tends to be full-bodied wines with high tannins and noticeable acidity that contributes to the wine's aging potential. In cooler climates, Cabernet Sauvignon tends to produce wines with blackcurrant notes that can be accompanied by green bell pepper notes, mint and cedar which will all become more pronounced as the wine ages. In more moderate climates the blackcurrant notes are often seen with black cherry and black olive notes while in very hot climates the currant flavours can veer towards the over-ripe and "jammy" side. In parts of Australia, particularly the Coonawarra wine region of South Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon wines tend to have a characteristic eucalyptus or menthol notes.

The style of Cabernet Sauvignon is strongly influenced by the ripeness of the grapes at harvest. When more on the unripe side, the grapes are high in pyrazines and will exhibit pronounced green bell peppers and vegetal flavours. When harvested overripe the wines can taste jammy and may have aromas of stewed blackcurrants. Some winemakers choose to harvest their grapes at different ripeness levels in order to incorporate these different elements and potentially add some layer of complexity to the wine. When Cabernet Sauvignon is young, the wines typically exhibit strong fruit flavours of black cherries and plum. The aroma of blackcurrants is one of the most distinctive and characteristic element of Cabernet Sauvignon that is present in virtually every style of the wine across the globe. Styles from various regions and producers may also have aromas of eucalyptus, mint and tobacco. As the wines age they can sometimes develop aromas associated with cedar, cigar boxes and pencil shavings. In general New World examples have more pronounced fruity notes while Old World wines can be more austere with heightened earthy notes.

Alternative Names: Bidure, Bouche, Bordo, Bouchet, Burdeos Tinto, Lafite, Vidure

About Napa Valley

Napa Valley, an hour's drive north of San Francisco, California, is the most famous and prestigious wine region anywhere in the New World. Although a number of grape varieties are grown in the valley's vineyards, the area is particularly known for its Cabernet Sauvignon. The classic "Napa Cab", the archetypal Napa Valley wine, is a rich, oak-aged red with aromas of blackcurrant, boysenberry, liquorice, vanilla and smoky, bittersweet chocolate.

Situated immediately north of San Pablo Bay, the valley runs roughly SE – NW for approximately 35 miles (60km) between the Vacas and Mayacamas mountain ranges (to the east and west respectively). The scenic 40-minute drive between the Napa and Calistoga townships passes through some of the most valuable viticultural real estate on Earth.

There are several reasons for Napa Valley's global renown as a wine region. Most obvious is that the wines are produced to high standards, in a popular style, and are very well marketed. Then there is the region's accessibility from San Francisco. This draws millions of wine tourists to the valley each year to sample its wines and world-class gastronomy. And no less important (even after almost four decades) is the triumph of Napa Valley wines over their rivals from Bordeaux and Burgundy in the 1976 Paris Judgment.

Wine has been made in Napa Valley since the 19th Century, but it is only since the 1960s that wine of any particular quality has been produced. The founding pioneers of Napa Valley winemaking were George C. Yount (see Yountville), and John Patchett and his winemaker Charles Krug, founder of the eponymous winery. Also of note are the Beringer brothers Jacob and Frederick, whose Beringer Vineyards (est. 1875) is one of California's oldest continuously operated wineries and features on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Robert Mondavi, who established his winery in 1966, is considered to be one of the pioneers of Napa's modern wine industry, as well as being one of the first proponents of varietal labelling.

The range of grape varieties grown in the Napa Valley has evolved steadily over the 150 years since Yount planted his first vines. Cabernet Sauvignon has risen confidently to become Napa's star performer, and is the most widely planted grape in almost all of the valley's sub-regions. The notable exception to this rule is Carneros, whose cool, breezy mesoclimate is better suited to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Merlot is also prominent, although since its fall from favour in the 1990s it is now used mostly as a blending component for Napa's Meritage wines and Bordeaux blends. Although it represents only a small proportion of the valley's vineyard area here, Zinfandel remains significant in the Napa wine portfolio. Hillside sites above the valley floor provide exactly the kind of warm, dry environment in which Zinfandel (California's signature variety) performs best, particularly on rocky, free-draining slopes.

White wines are strongly outnumbered here, but play a valuable supporting role, bringing an element of diversity to the valley. Once upon a time, Riesling was the variety of choice, but has now been replaced almost completely by Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

Climate, geology and topography are three essential components in what makes Napa Valley such a first-rate viticultural area. The combined influences of San Pablo Bay and the hills of the North Coast Ranges are responsible for the valley's very particular mesoclimate. The bay generates morning fog, and the hills channel it inland, up into the valley. Without this fog that comes rolling in from the bays, the valley's climate would be substantially warmer than it is, making it difficult to achieve structure and balance in the wines. The fog doesn't reach the higher parts of the valley, however, leaving these to rely on the cooling effects of altitude to keep their vines in balance.

Regular price $1,948.00

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