Oakville Estate Proprietary Red  |  Cabernet Sauvignon "Estate Grown"
Jericho Canyon Red  |  Chardonnay  |  Sauvignon Blanc

2001 RUDD OAKVILLE ESTATE PROPRIETARY RED

The 2001 Rudd Oakville Estate is the second vintage from our newly replanted vineyard at the corner of Oakville Crossroad and Silverado Trail. Our vineyard is planted in rocky, red volcanic soils at the foot of the Vaca Mountains using high density planting and low vigor rootstock to encourage the vines to produce smaller, highly concentrated berries. The 2001 was made primarily from Clone 337 Cabernet Sauvignon, a Bordeaux clone that has proven very successful in our Oakville terroir.

The 2001 growing season began a week earlier than normal but was back on track by early September. Warm-to-hot weather during bloom resulted in a short flowering period that promoted even ripening with slightly below average crop levels. Harvest began on September 4 and was completed on October 13. The weather during harvest was dry and generally moderate except for two brief heat spikes, allowing for more than sufficient hang time. As a result, the wine has concentrated fruit and mineral aromatics with a deep, complex mid-palate and a long, well-integrated finish. After 15 to 22 days on the skins, the wine was pressed and barreled immediately. It was fined in barrel with fresh egg whites and bottled unfiltered in June 2003.

The 2004 Crossroads Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon was produced from the benchland vineyards of the Rudd estate in Oakville, the same vineyards that produce the Rudd Oakville Estate Red Wine. The entire 55-acre vineyard is planted in very rocky, red volcanic soils using low-vigor rootstock and high-density, 4’ x 4’ vine spacing.

The 2004 growing season began one week earlier than normal and as the result of a generally warm spring, was ten days to two weeks ahead by bloom in early to mid-May. Alternately cool, then hot weather just before bloom brought a flowering that promoted even ripening, but with very low crop levels. The summer remained generally warm to hot and harvest began more than two weeks earlier than normal, with Malbec on August 24 and 30, followed by Merlot on September 1 and 2, followed by Petit Verdot on September 7. The Cabernet Franc was harvested on September 2 and 4, followed by the Cabernet Sauvignon between September 8 and 20. The weather during harvest was downright hot, and our winemaker was virtually camped out in the vineyards, to ensure sufficient grape flavor development and hang time. As a result, the wine has concentrated, chocolaty red & black fruit aromas with a lush mid-palate and a sweet supple finish. After four to five weeks on the skins, the wine went into barrel for nineteen months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered in June 2006.

The 2003 growing season began several days later than normal and, as the result of a variably cool spring, was about a week behind by bloom in late May. Alternately cool and hot weather during bloom brought a flowering that promoted even ripening with slightly below average crop levels. Harvest began ten days later than normal, with Merlot on September 11 and 15, followed by Malbec on September 18 and 22, Cabernet Franc on September 19 and 20, and Petit Verdot on September 25. The Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested between September 30 and October 22. The weather during harvest was dry, with moderate temperatures bracketed by early September and mid-October heat spikes - allowing for full ripening. As a result, this wine has concentrated, fruit-forward aromatics with a deep, rich mid-palate and a well-integrated finish. After 16 to 25 days on the skins, the wine went into barrel for twenty months. It was fined in-barrel with fresh egg whites and bottled unfiltered in June 2005.

Blend: 76%Cabernet Sauvignon, 7%Cabernet Franc, 6 % Petit Verdot, 6 % Malbec, 5 % Merlot Appellation: Oakville Fermentation: Native yeast and natural malolactic Aging: 20 months in French oak; 80% new Cases produced: 2,450 Suggested retail price: $90

2002 RUDD OAKVILLE CABERNET SAUVIGNON
         "ESTATE GROWN"

The 2002 Rudd Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon was produced from the newly re-planted vineyards of our benchland site in Oakville. The vineyard is planted in very rocky, red volcanic soils using low-vigor rootstock, in a high-density,
4' x 4' vine spacing. The Cabernet Sauvignon for this wine came from the highly regarded Bordeaux clone #337 and two intensely-flavored, historic California clones, #4 and #15. The Cabernet Franc is clone #1, the Merlot is clone # 181, the Petit Verdot is clone # 400, and the Malbec is from clones #9 and #595. All of these low-yielding clones were planted because they consistently give high quality and are very effective at expressing our Oakville terroir.

The 2002 growing season began almost a week later than normal but, as the result of a warm spring, was back on track by bloom in late May. Alternately cool, then hot weather during bloom brought a flowering that promoted even ripening with slightly below average crop levels. Harvest began a few days earlier than normal, with Malbec on September 4, followed by Merlot and Petit Verdot between September 9 and 11. The Cabernet Franc was harvested on September 16 and 18, followed by the Cabernet Sauvignon between September 17 and 26. Though weather during harvest was dry, cool spells continued to wrestle with heat spikes - ultimately allowing for sufficient hang time. As a result, the wine has concentrated, fruit-forward aromatics with a deep, rich mid-palate and a well-integrated finish. After 21 to 30 days on the skins, the wine went into barrel for twenty months. It was fined in-barrel with fresh egg whites and bottled unfiltered in June 2004.

2005 RUDD NAPA VALLEY SAUVIGNON BLANC

The 2005 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is produced from five vineyard sources. The newest is our own vineyard in the northern part of Mt. Veeder. Here we planted three clones of Sauvignon Blanc on eastern-facing slopes at elevations between 1,550 and 1,650 feet. We blended this with our historic sources of purchased fruit from Oakville and Rutherford. We also used a small amount of Sauvignon Blanc from the rolling hills of Sonoma Valley, and a bit of Semillon from Calistoga. This wine exhibits the richness and classic varietal flavor that are the hallmark of Rudd’s approach to Sauvignon Blanc, with an even more exotic aroma and slightly richer body from our Mt. Veeder fruit.
The timing of the 2005 Sauvignon Blanc growing season was close to normal from bud break to harvest. The harvest began on September 3 and was completed over a four week period. The Oakville fruit was first, followed by Mt Veeder and Rutherford, then the Sonoma SB, and finally the Semillon on October 1. Once harvested, the grapes were gently whole-cluster pressed, then gravity-fed to barrels in Rudd’s underground caves. Native yeasts were allowed to induce fermentation. This primary fermentation was completed in a combination of new and used French oak, concrete eggs, and stainless steel barrels. The concrete eggs, which are the first to be used in the United States, have added another dimension to our winemaking. Somewhat larger than a barrel, the porous concrete material gives the richness of an oak barrel fermentation, but with the varietal purity of a stainless steel barrel. The wine was stirred and topped monthly for six months, then racked, fined and bottled without filtration in May 2006.

The 2004 growing season was the earliest in nearly 20 years. A dry, late winter ended with three warm spells – the first in late February, then in mid-March, and again in late April. This shifted the whole season – bud break, flowering, veraison and harvest – two to three weeks earlier than normal. The harvest began on August 12 and was completed over a sixteen-day period. The Oakville fruit was first, followed by Rutherford and finally the Semillon on August 28. Once harvested, the grapes were gently whole-cluster pressed, then gravity-fed to barrels in Rudd’s underground caves. Native yeasts were allowed to induce fermentation. This primary fermentation was completed in a combination of new and used French oak, concrete eggs, and stainless steel barrels. The concrete eggs, which are the first to be used in the United States, have added another dimension to our winemaking. Somewhat larger than a barrel, the porous concrete material gives the richness of an oak barrel fermentation, but with the varietal purity of a stainless steel barrel. The wine was stirred and topped monthly for seven months, then racked, fined and bottled without filtration in late May 2005. To ensure consistent excellence in every bottle, we bottled the 2004 Sauvignon Blanc with screw caps.

Blend: 93% Sauvignon Blanc , 7% Semillon Appellation: Napa Valley Fermentation: Native yeast / no malolactic Aging: 7 months, 79% third-use French oak, 3% new French oak, 10% concrete eggs, 3% stainless steel berrels. Cases produced: 1,452 Suggested retail price: $35

Harvest 2003 began on September 9 and was completed over a seven-day period, beginning with the Oakville fruit, followed by Yountville and ending with the Rutherford vineyard on September 15. Once harvested, the grapes were gently whole-cluster pressed, then gravity-fed to barrels in Rudd's underground caves. Native yeasts were allowed to induce fermentation. This primary fermentation was completed in a combination of 4% new French oak, 83% third-use French oak, 10% stainless steel barrels and 3% concrete eggs. The concrete eggs, which our winemaker Charles Thomas discovered on a recent trip to France, are the first to be used in the United States. Slightly larger than a barrel, the porous concrete material gives the richness of an oak barrel fermentation, as well as the varietal purity of a stainless steel barrel. The wine was stirred and topped monthly for seven months, then racked, fined and bottled without filtration in June 2004.