Source: Philip Togni Vineyard
Philip Togni Vineyard
Napa Valley, California
" We planted our first vines up here at 2000 feet near the top of Spring Mountain in the Napa Valley in 1981. Those phylloxera vulnerable rootstocks have now gone, replanted in the early nineties.
Our first wines were Cabernet and Sauvignon blanc in 1983, but we have now concentrated our efforts on a very ageworthy Margaux-type blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet franc and Petit Verdot, all grown here on the 25 acre parcel where we live. “Estate Bottled” is an important definition for us, meaning that we grow all the grapes on land we own and make and bottle the wine here with our own workers, totally free from outside influences.
There are three owners, Birgitta and Philip Togni, recently joined by their daughter Lisa. Birgitta specializes in the vineyard. Philip is a former student of Emile Peynaud at the University of Bordeaux where he earned the Diplôme National d’Oenologie many years ago while working as assistant Régisseur at Château Lascombes. Lisa, holding an MBA, with a background in the wine Trade, has done harvests at Château Léoville-Barton and in Australia. Her plan is to take over the business during the next few years.
Also Estate Bottled is our Tanbark Hill Cabernet from young vines which is sold primarily to the Trade.
Most of the 2000 case annual production is sold to a mailing list on a first-come basis. Part of each offering is a very limited amount of the Cabernet made ten years earlier, as an illustration of the ageworthiness of our wine. The balance is split between a broad but thin presence in many of the well known wine stores in the U.S., and a definite presence in almost all European countries together with the principal Asian markets.
One of our recent tasting achievements was in Brussels where the most noted professional panel in the country twice ranked our 1990 Cabernet above eleven other Bordeaux and California Cabernets of 1990 including Latour, Margaux, Haut-Brion and Mouton.
Ca’ Togni is a very sweet red wine inspired by Constantia, the great South African wine of the 19th century. It is made from our planting of the rare table grape Black Hamburgh, the only one to our knowledge in Napa County. Annual production rarely exceeds a single barrel of 500 half bottles.