2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Togni's 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon is a bold, pungent wine, with the savory side of the year very much on display. Medium in body and translucent, the 2011 shows good energy throughout. Even so, I would prefer to drink it on the earlier side, as the savory quality is starting to lean more into the realm of the vegetal. Bright red-fleshed fruit, sweet pipe tobacco, cedar and mint linger nicely. Harvest did not take place until October 30, very late for Togni. The crop required significant thinning to ripen, which is rarely done here.

While not the greatest vintage of this wine, Togni's 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is maturing nicely and drinking well now. Still possessed of great dark color, it's cedary and complex on the nose, with mossy notes of earthy complexity to complement its cassis fruit and cigar-box overtones. Medium to full-bodied, it's very Bordeaux-like in shape, silky and elegant, and it will be a fine food partner over the next 10 years or so. Consumers or restaurants without cellar space and long-term vision should avail themselves of Togni's library releases whenever budgets permit.

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Philip Togni Vineyards exhibits a dark ruby color with less saturation than one normally expects from a Togni Cabernet. There is no herbaceousness or greenness, but a slightly compact character is present (a characteristic that in many ways defines this challenging vintage in Napa Valley). The wine possesses attractive red and blackcurrants, a spicy earthiness and is somewhat monolithic. Drink it over the next 7-8 years.