Winemaker Notes
Philip Togni Vineyard Cabernet is a very ageworthy Margaux-type blend of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, with Merlot, Cabernet franc and Petit Verdot.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Each year Togni releases about 100 cases of a 10-year old Cabernet. This year, the 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is being re-released. It is a fabulous example of Togni's visionary winemaking style. This inky/ruby/purple-tinged wine still tastes like a young adolescent. The extraordinary aromatics offer up scents of smoke, spices, sweet blackberries and cassis, saddle leather, and pain grille. With fabulous texture and sweet tannin, this remarkably young wine is a profound example of mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that should last for another two decades or more.
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Wine Spectator
Distinctive for its coffee bean, herbal and complex berry flavors, this wine is intense, with a chewy core of currant and blackberry flavors. Best to cellar short-term, although it's less rustic and backward at this stage than in previous vintages.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Above the town of St. Helena on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains sits the Spring Mountain District.
A dynamic region, its vineyards, cut by numerous springs and streams, vary in elevation, slope and aspect. Soils differ throughout with over 20 distinct types inside of the 8,600 acres that define the appellation. Within that area, only about 1,000 are planted to vineyards. Predominantly farmed by small, independent producers, the region currently has just over 30 wineries.
During the growing season, late afternoon Pacific Ocean breezes reach the Spring Mountain vineyards, which sit at between 400 and 1,200 feet. Daytime temperatures during mid summer and early fall remain slightly cooler than those of the valley floor.
Spring Mountain soils—volcanic matter and sedimentary rock—create intense but balanced reds with lush and delicate tannins. The area excels with Bordeaux varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot and in some cooler spots, Chardonnay.