Vinous 2024 Wine of the Year: 2021 Philip Togni Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | NOVEMBER 20, 2024

Choosing the Vinous Wine of the Year for 2024 from the more than 35,000 wines our team of reviewers tasted during the last twelve months was a daunting task. Over the course of long discussions and lengthy deliberations, one wine stood out. A Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from a magnificent vintage that embodies exceptional quality and pedigree, with a price tag that remains quite accessible within the realm of the world’s very finest bottles. That wine is the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate from Philip Togni Vineyard.

Tasting the 2021 Togni Cabernet Sauvignon Estate from barrel, Fall 2022.

A Little Historical Background

A native of England, Philip Togni began his wine career as a student under Emile Peynaud at the University of Bordeaux, where he earned the Diplôme National d’Oenologie while working at Château Lascombes in Margaux. Togni arrived in Napa Valley in 1959. His early stints included time at Mayacamas, Chalone, Gallo and Inglenook in what were the early days of Napa Valley in the post-Prohibition era. In the mid 1960s, Togni helped found Chappellet, where he made some of his first iconic wines. A few years ago, I ran into a well-known collector at the Meadowood resort in St. Helena. “What are your five all-time top wines from Napa Valley?” he asked. I had to think a little about wines #2-5. Wine #1 was obvious. It could only be one wine—the 1969 Cabernet Sauvignon Togni made during his stint at Chappellet. The 1969 remains one of the greatest and most singular wines ever made in Napa Valley. Togni spent seven years at Chappellet before moving to Cuvaison, where his achievements include the stellar 1975 Cabernet Sauvignon, made from Spring Mountain fruit.

Inspired by that wine, Togni and his wife, Birgitta, purchased a ranch on Spring Mountain the same year. At the time, the property, perched at 2,000 feet in elevation, was basically a forest, although vines had been planted at some point in the late 1800s. The Tognis developed their vineyard in 1981, opening a new chapter in Napa Valley history with their first release, the 1983 Cabernet Sauvignon. Those early days were not easy. The spread of phylloxera and virus required extensive replantings in the early 1990s.

Lisa Togni, center, flanked by parents Philip and Birgitta, has taken her family’s wines to a new level of quality while also quietly establishing herself as one of the most respected and admired winemakers in Napa Valley.