A very warm growing season throughout the spring and summer resulted in a very early harvest in California, the hillside and other cooler sites have produced the best reds here. Excessive heat at the vintage time caused some Napa producers some trouble, but Sonoma was a little cooler.
The Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are high in alcohol and tannins, truly wines for the long-term. Sonoma's cooler growing season has produced better balanced wines. The wines from the Central Coast and whites in general have been successful.
The Pacific north-west had a much cooler start to the season with warm weather in July and August, followed by cooler, wetter weather just before the vintage. The results are very good in Oregon, with good flavour profiles in all major grape varieties. Washington State is a little more patchy, but the whites and late ripening reds are quite good.
The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, comes from steep mountain vineyards at the top of the Napa side of Spring Mountain. Aromas of black olives, tapenade, creme de cassis, licorice and truffles emerge from this opaque ruby/purple-colored, youthful 2004. Togni’s spiritual reference point is Bordeaux more than Napa Valley, and his wines seem to represent a hypothetical melange of those two distinctive schools of wine. Still backward, but rich, full-bodied and promising, this brilliant 2004 is 5-7 years away from its adolescence; it should age for 30-40 years. Fergus Stewart - Private Account Manager
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Fergus Stewart - Private Account Manager