2023 Rudd Crossroads Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

When it comes to high-quality Napa wines, Rudd Estate is at the top of its game. This estate, which was founded only 30 years ago, has already gained fame and recognition worldwide and achieved cult status. 

Located in Oakville, or as Wine Spectator called it “the filet mignon of Napa Valley Cabernet production,” this family-owned winery is managed by Leslie Rudd’s daughter, Samantha Rudd. Samantha is a strong and determined winemaker whose expertise includes working in Clos Pegase Winery and Château Margaux.

She took over the family winery in 2018, and since then, she decided to lead the winery to organic and biodynamic viticulture. She also created Rudd’s second label, Crossroads. Samantha describes Crossroads as “a label that reflects the unique geological properties and winemaking techniques.”

This wine comes from a once-in-a-lifetime vintage. Decanter called 2023 in Napa a collector's vintage — a season shaped by heavy winter rains and cool-to-moderate temperatures, with no destructive mid-harvest heat and no late-season rain, producing Cabernets of unusual elegance and structure. It is the kind of year that rewards patience in the vineyard and pays it back in the glass for decades.