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Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Vinous
2019 Philip Togni Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, USA
This long-lived, elegant, estate bottled wine is made from grapes grown on our ten-acre vineyard at 2000 feet elevation near the top of Spring Mountain, located on the western side of the Napa Valley, west/northwest of the town of St. Helena. We dry farm (so without irrigation) the vineyard ourselves using organic practices. Our first vintage was 1983, made with our original vines planted in 1981.
The current vineyard was planted between 1985 and 1997. The vineyard is planted with 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot so this is the varietal composition of the Philip Togni Vineyard Cabernet. The main scion wood came from two famous old vineyards on Napa Valley hillsides, with a small area budded with clone 337. Rootstocks are primarily 110R, with small amounts of 3309, 420A and 1103. The steepest, rockiest vineyard blocks are used to make our Philip Togni Vineyard Cabernet, with the remaining blocks going into our estate bottled second wine, Tanbark Hill Vineyard.
Harvest began on September 24th in 2019. The grapes, which were picked at 24 to 25 degrees Brix, were sorted, gently destemmed and minimally crushed, cold soaked for 3 days and then inoculated with Montrachet yeast. After a twenty day fermentation, where the temperature reached the high 80Fs, the skins were gently pressed, the wine was racked off its gross lees, and then moved into French barrels from the coopers Nadalie and Taransaud, with 40% of the wine going into new barrels and the remainder into one-year old barrels. Malolactic fermentation took place in barrel during the month of November. The wine was then racked every three months before being bottled in July of 2021. 1078 cases were made.
Philip Togni Vineyard is a small, family-owned Napa Valley wine producer, focused on producing high-quality wine from Cabernet Sauvignon. It is one of the oldest producers of the Spring Mountain District AVA (American Viticultural Area).
The wine collection is simple, featuring varietal Cabernet Sauvignon sourced directly from the estate. This wine has strong characteristics of Spring Mountain, quite tannic in its youth but shows its elegance with age. For the impatient, the second label Tanbark Hill is a Cabernet Sauvignon produced 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.
Togni Wine
Like the classified growths of Bordeaux, Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon shows its finesse in cellaring potential and outstanding quality every vintage. The Tognis have lived on and farmed this golden spot on Spring Mountain for the last 40 years. The estate’s high elevation and well draining soils allow the Tognis the luxury of harvesting on schedule at the preferred ripeness. Fans of his style will find a wine that speaks of the incredible Spring Mountain terroir with ample fruit and a solid foundation of structure, which will age beautifully for decades.
Farming: Organic
Vinification: Stainless steel fermentation with regular pump-overs, gravity fed into barrel; minimal racking
Aging: 20 months in barrel, 40% new French oak (Nevers), unfiltered, unfined