Current Wine List
We are happy to offer our current release of the recently bottled 2009 Cabernet.
As always, this exists at two price levels: the Philip Togni Cabernet, which we think of as our “Reserve;” and--at less than half the price--our Tanbark Hill Cabernet from our lower vineyard, also Estate Bottled, but with a less than 25-year life expectation.
Despite anything the wine critics will write, for us the ‘09 represents a very successful harvest. Though the rains came early, we had accelerated our ripening by very severe thinning and succeeded in completing the picking before even a drop of rain.
Stephen Tanzer has written, “Good full ruby-red. Briary, musky blackberry, bitter chocolate . . . Then juicy and penetrating, with brisk, almost peppery acidity for this mountain wine. The pure, fresh dark fruit and licorice flavors are complicated by a saline quality. Togni told me he finished the harvest just two days before the big rainstorm.” Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, May/June ‘1
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The 2009 Cabernet fulfills all of our expectations for our 2000 foot elevation vineyard--it is dark colored, has a delicious aroma, and is exquisitely rich in flavor. Life expectation is about 40 years of improvement, but may easily exceed this in terms of survival.
The Tanbark Hill of 2009 is also grown right here. At $40, the bottle could be seen as artificially inexpensive. Life expectation about 15 years, but with immediate charm right up front.
We offer the 2006 version of our sweet red wine, the Ca’ Togni. Reminiscent of a Riesling beeren auslese--but red--it is a bargain at $50 for the half bottle. Both Robert Parker and Tanzer love it.
Our ten-year-old offering is the 2001 Cabernet of which sadly only a few cases remain. As always, first come, first served. Here is a wine applauded by Antonio Galloni and Parker in their issue #195 from June 2011 as “absolutely spectacular” with a 50-year life expectancy and 97 points.
As an additional flourish, we can offer you a few bottles of our best wine to date, the ‘91 Cabernet. Antonio Galloni, of The Wine Advocate, tasting here last week commented, “a hard one to spit out!” We will see his opinions in the end of the year’s “Advocate.” Now just 20 years since harvest it is beginning to show particularly well and will probably improve for another ten years.
Yours sincerely,
Philip, Lisa and Birgitta Togni
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