2014 Philip Togni "Estate" Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon

“The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is delicate, understated and very pretty. It opens with a burst of crushed red fruit, lavender, sage, mint and blood orange. The 2014 has softened beautifully with time in the bottle. Intensely aromatic and still very young, it boasts mid-weight structure, refined tannins and enough freshness to drink well for another decade or more. (AG)” (01/2025)

“The third consecutive year of drought in California brought incredible concentration to the wines. This vintage exhibits an incredibly dark colour, nearly opaque, and even darker than the 2016, the first wine I tasted in a lineup of 10 vintages dating back to the first release. We conducted this tasting in August 2024. The wine presents a sweetness to the fruit character, with an almost liqueur-like quality, complemented by a bright capsicum note, dusty cedarwood, dried violets, and blue fruit that emerges with air. This is a muscular Philip Togni wine, showcasing that mountain burliness with real depth of flavour and intense tannins. (JC)” (08/2024)

“Togni's 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate, tasted at the winery as the 10-year anniversary release, is just starting to show some maturity, with complex, compelling notes of earth, cassis, mocha, tobacco, cigar box and vanilla. It's medium to full-bodied, somehow both firm and silky in feel, with a ripe, lingering finish. Looking back at Robert Parker's notes from its release, it's fascinating to see that he rated this wine 94+ and considered it "one of his [Togni's] more forward and precociously styled Cabernets." (JC)” (07/2024)

“Steeped and dense, this offers medicinal, almost amarolike accents of menthol and sweet bay that swirl around briefly before they're pulled back into the core of grippy green fig and red currant paste. Tar and cast iron accents give this a very, very structured feel, while black tea and singed apple wood notes spike the wiry, tensile finish. No, this is not for everyone. But it is special. (JM)” (09/2024)

“The flagship cuvee is the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate and it comes from the estate vineyard on Spring Mountain and is 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It's a deeper, richer wine than the Tanbark Hill release and offers terrific creme de cassis, tobacco leaf, cedarwood and incense aromas and flavors. Ripe, medium to full-bodied, concentrated and yet elegant, it shows the hallmark purity of the vintage, has ripe tannin and impeccable balance. 95+” (12/2017)