1993 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

The Tognis hold back fifty or so cases of their finest vintages to be released after a decade of aging. This year, it is the 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate. For its price, purchasers will receive a complex Cabernet that is just approaching mid-adolescence. Its tastes are similar to a hybrid blend of a Pauillac and St.-Julien. Cedar wood, spice box, black currants, and tobacco leaf aromas soar from the glass of this aromatically exciting 1993. A dark plum/purple/garnet color reveals a touch of lightening at the edge. The wine is rich and medium to full-bodied, with impressive purity as well as intensity. Already beautiful to drink, it should evolve for another 10-15 years. Tel. (707) 963-3731; Fax (707) 963-9186

This artisanal producer tucked away on the steep hillsides of Spring Mountain continues to fashion some of the most concentrated, inky black-colored Cabernet Sauvignons in California. The more I taste the Cabernets of Philip Togni, the more I admire what he has achieved. One of the legendary Philip Togni wines is the 1969 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon, which remains one of the most memorable California Cabernets I have ever had. The Cabernet Sauvignons Togni has produced at his small boutique winery since the early eighties are every bit as profound, if not better than the 1969. In many wines, it is always a battle between the fruit and the tannin, with the tannin often winning out, but Togni's wines are the exception. As a recent vertical tasting proved, his Cabernet Sauvignons from his first vintages in the early eighties remain extraordinary, remarkably young wines that still possess fabulous fruit concentration. Readers never need to worry about the tannin outlasting the fruit at this winery. Recent vintages (the 1995 looks to be the qualitative equivalent of the great 1994) have all been superb, with the 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, and probably the 1995 all meriting mid-ninety point scores. The 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon is marginally lighter, but this massive example of the vintage is extremely well-endowed, and perhaps underrated vis a vis the other Cabernet Sauvignons. The 1993 Sauvignon Blanc (if you can find any) reveals greater fruit and intensity as it has had more time in the bottle. This is a non-malolactic wine that relies on crisp acidity to balance out the fruit and give it razor sharp delineation. Tel. (707) 963-3731; Fax (707) 963- 9186