I have been in a complicated and meaningful relationship with Rudd Estate since I was 8 years old. The Estate has always held a more elevated position in my life, more akin to a sibling than a piece of land — a veritable and ever-present part of dinner conversations and family celebrations as far back as I can remember. The existence of these occasionally complicated relationships is what makes life, and business, meaningful.

As I sat down to write this letter, I reflected on my relationship with both the Estate and our winemaker, Natalie Bath, and how interconnected the two have been for me since a young age. In spontaneous order, they’ve always been connected. It’s rare in this life when two such important relationships collide unexpectedly, especially considering Natalie originally planned to attend law school. Thankfully fate intervened and her career evolved in a different direction.

I have a fundamental belief in merit rooted in having taken over a family business. People often assume working in a family business is easier than starting a new endeavor, but the opposite is true. The pressure to succeed and fulfill my promise to do better than the previous generation is high. Similarly for Natalie, there is a different type of pressure due to our friendship. She cares more about this Estate than any other winemaker ever could — she knows every corner of this property having grown up on it beside me. She knows the importance I place on the land and the people —  all of us are stewards, and the land is the anchor for everything we do. My expectations of Natalie are high, and hers are equally high of herself. For the relationship to work, the merit must be there.

An exceedingly strong work ethic is something I’ve admired in Natalie from a young age. She began working at Rudd Estate in 2012, and she has spent each day since working her way up. She became the winemaker in 2021; however, she has been influencing our wines behind the scenes for more than a decade. She works hard, pushes herself and her team to learn, grow, evolve, and be inspired by the land and wines that come from it. The length of our relationship, the depth of care and passion for the land she has, and her belief in this purposeful work is unparalleled.

Her debut vintage is considered one of the great growing seasons in Napa Valley. A small yielding vintage revealed wines of deep concentration and flavor, with distinctive lots selected for the 2021 Rudd Oakville Estate Samantha’s Cabernet Sauvignon. Notes of intense anise and deep violet add a spice and floral dimension, while black cherries contribute a fruit profile that is synonymous with our site. A wine that is only just starting to reveal itself, its true expression will develop over the next 30 years, mirroring my relationship with Natalie.

I’m incredibly proud to release this wine as it’s been 28 years in the making. People often say wine is a combination of art and science — in my opinion, wine has a soul based upon the people that made it. I hope you enjoy the long journey this wine has made as much as I have enjoyed my own personal and business journey with Natalie.

All the best,

Samantha Rudd