2002 Rudd Oakville Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

(95 Points -- Wine Advocate) The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Estate is a 2,550-case blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. It is aged 20 months in new French oak prior to bottling. This super effort comes across as a Napa version of top-flight Pauillac. Dense ruby/purple to the rim with a gorgeous nose of smoke, cedar, burning wood fires, and creme de cassis, this powerful, intensely rich, complex Cabernet reveals notions of chocolate, charcoal, and blackberry fruit. (RP) Review Date: 02/2005