Experience

a tasting of  
wine barrel aged tea

Tealeaves x Rudd

The Pursuit of

of Perfection

In 2014, TEALEAVES, expert in tea, collaborated with Rudd Oakville Estate, expert in wine. Our mission was simple: to collaborate and create an ultimate wine tea superior in palate.

"We asked ourselves, 'What kind of tea would we create if we had unlimited time and resources?' From this came the idea of a limited edition line of Barrel Aged Tealeaves to be appreciated by Master Sommeliers, wine aficionados, and tea lovers, alike."

— TEALEAVES Master Blenders

in Wine Tea

Tasting Notes—

TEALEAVES x RUDD Cabernet French Oak Tea.

Color, aroma, and taste express palate in tea, as in wine.

Color

The Liquor:

Light jade celadon, typical of unfermented camelia sinensis.

Aroma

The Nose:

Muscatel overtones, jasmine-forward flourish. Subtle hints of vanilla.

Taste

The Finish:

Complex character, balanced. Slightly astringent (tannic).

craftsmanship—

Blending the
East and West,
Old and New

Tradition meets innovation. The TEALEAVES x RUDD Cabernet French Oak Tea was the result of applying the very best techniques and ingredients from the Old World, New World, and Ancient World, drawing parallels between wine and tea.

Aged in a used French oak barrel gifted to TEALEAVES by the RUDD Oakville Estate, the “memory” of the wine has been translated to the tea, resulting in a wine tea of great complexity and superior palate.

"Our Master Blenders, paying homage to centuries of tea growers and vintners, blend culture + technique: China (white tea, imperial-scented) + France (French oak wine-aged barrels) + Napa Valley (Cabernet Sauvignon 'memory' imparted to the barrels) + Vancouver (barrel-aging white tea).

In 2015, RUDD gifted to TEALEAVES, an exquisitely aromatic French Oak barrel which had aged their signature 2010 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. TEALEAVES blenders experimented with various techniques to artfully marry the aromatics of wine, French oak and jasmine imperial-scented white tea. Variables of humidity, temperature and aging time were carefully databased to determine the optimal matrix. The result? A respectful balance between the great culture that is tea, grape and French oak.

It is our honor to be a steward of this craft, to innovate in tea blending, mindful of the rich history and passion for thousands of years that has led us to this point."

– TEALEAVES Master Blenders

  • terroir

    Oakville, Napa Valley, USA

    The red volcanic iron-rich soils, unique in the world, produce masculine Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that form the backbone of the 2010 Rudd Oakville Estate Red, balancing harmoniously with the more delicate jasmine.

  • Key Ingredient

    Hand-Picked Grapes

    Estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are picked by hand offering complex nuances of dark fruit to the TEALEAVES x RUDD Blend. RUDD Estate Winegrower Frederick Ammons tastes the grapes in the vineyards each morning to identify the best time for harvest.

  • Technique

    Barrel Aging Wine

    Subtle notes of oak and vanilla are the result of a careful aging in toasted oak barrels. Rudd Oakville Estate uses handcrafted, French oak barrels sourced from 400-year-old forests in France. Barrel aging in French oak results in a more nuanced finished wine and pays homage to traditional winemaking practices in France’s esteemed Bordeaux and Burgundy.

  • Terroir

    Fujian, China

    The aroma and taste of jasmine is heady and intoxicating due to the internationally renowned terroir and centuries of expertise from the Fuzhou region of Fujian.

    TEALEAVES blends from the same terroir.

  • key ingredient

    Hand-Picked White Tea

    Resulting in an intriguing soft slightly vegetal cup, the tea leaves are hand-picked from only the top-most leaves and buds of the camellia sinensis (tea) plant and hand-dried using a heated tray over fire. It takes hundreds of hours to make the small batch that fills the wine barrel used to make the TEALEAVES x RUDD Blend.

    TEALEAVES hand-picked white teas.

  • Technique

    Imperial Scenting Tea

    Taste a perfect harmony of Jasmine and toast from the TEALEAVES x RUDD Blend. Labor intensive, the leaves were scented and re-scented 7 times in Fuzhou, China with the leaves placed between bamboo sheets of jasmine to absorb the aromas. The technique pays homage to the traditional Chinese method of imperial-scenting.

    TEALEAVES imperial scented blends.

parallels

with wine

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parallels

with tea

Parallels in
Wine & Tea

terroir

Oakville, Napa Valley, USA

The red volcanic iron-rich soils, unique in the world, produce masculine Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that form the backbone of the 2010 Rudd Oakville Estate Red, balancing harmoniously with the more delicate jasmine.

Terroir

Fujian, China

The aroma and taste of jasmine is heady and intoxicating due to the internationally renowned terroir and centuries of expertise from the Fuzhou region of Fujian.

TEALEAVES blends from the same terroir.

Key Ingredient

Hand-Picked Grapes

Estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are picked by hand offering complex nuances of dark fruit to the TEALEAVES x RUDD Blend. RUDD Estate Winegrower Frederick Ammons tastes the grapes in the vineyards each morning to identify the best time for harvest.

key ingredient

Hand-Picked White Tea

Resulting in an intriguing soft slightly vegetal cup, the tea leaves are hand-picked from only the top-most leaves and buds of the camellia sinensis (tea) plant and hand-dried using a heated tray over fire. It takes hundreds of hours to make the small batch that fills the wine barrel used to make the TEALEAVES x RUDD Blend.

TEALEAVES hand-picked white teas.

Technique

Barrel Aging Wine

Subtle notes of oak and vanilla are the result of a careful aging in toasted oak barrels. Rudd Oakville Estate uses handcrafted, French oak barrels sourced from 400-year-old forests in France. Barrel aging in French oak results in a more nuanced finished wine and pays homage to traditional winemaking practices in France’s esteemed Bordeaux and Burgundy.

Technique

Imperial Scenting Tea

Taste a perfect harmony of Jasmine and toast from the TEALEAVES x RUDD Blend. Labor intensive, the leaves were scented and re-scented 7 times in Fuzhou, China with the leaves placed between bamboo sheets of jasmine to absorb the aromas. The technique pays homage to the traditional Chinese method of imperial-scenting.

TEALEAVES imperial scented blends.

Wine Barrel

Technique—

Wine Barrel Aging Tea

Just as the French oak barrel imparts richness and nuance to the wine inside it, the same wine imparts its character on the barrel itself. The barrel used to produce the 2010 Rudd Oakville Estate Red offers complex mineral, fruit, wood and vanilla notes, which plays in perfect harmony with the imperial scented jasmine white tea. The tea was aged 200+ days in the French oak barrel at TEALEAVES’ Vancouver Blending Center, ensuring that the oak and wine aromas were absorbed into the white tea at the right levels. TEALEAVES Master Blenders conducted weekly tastings, modifying the absorption through ambient temperature and relative humidity – to blend this tea with optimal balance and nuance.

TEALEAVES x RUDDTEALEAVES x RUDD

Cabernet
French Oak Tea

Barrel Aged Tealeaves

200 days aged

20+ years of expertise

limited allocation, only 100 lots available.

$100 USD | $130 CAD/50g

Please email bespoke@tealeaves.com for any enquiries.

Craftsmanship—

Tasting with Riedel Glass—

Family owned and operated by Georg J. Riedel (10th generation) and Maximilian J. Riedel (11th generation), RIEDEL is recognized worldwide for the highest quality glasses and decanters for the enjoyment of wine and spirits.

When chilled, which Riedel glass is optimal for enjoying the TEALEAVES x RUDD blend?

After several hours of tasting, from Old and New World Pinot Noir glasses to several handmade prototype Riesling and Viognier Chardonnay glasses, a judgement was made.

Mr. Riedel recommended the Veritas Cabernet and its handmade version, Fatto a Manno:

“A harmonious balance, with hints of saddle and emerging notes of jasmine. Some minerality, wide body and interesting surprise to the palate. Nose is accentuated with the glass.”

- Georg J. Riedel

VERITAS CABERNET

Serve neat, without ice, at 50°F. Infuse for three hours in advance.

#Tasteteamonials

Experts give their tasting notes on the TEALEAVES x RUDD Cabernet french Oak Tea.

Master Sommelier

Will Costello

“It’s very, very pretty. High toned and flowery is the dominant characteristic of this tea.”

2-Star Michelin Executive Chef

Shaun Hergatt

“It’s extremely balanced and has a refined flavor profile. There is a certain terroir you can taste that is given from the barrels.”

Winegrower

Frederick Ammons

“The fruit signature of cabernet, infused in the barrel adds a lifting, vibrant dimension to the warm, earthy character of the tea. It is a marriage of toast, floral, earth and structure.”

Managing Director

Oscar Henquet

“Here you get the floral notes, you get some of the vanilla notes, the smoky notes, and at the same time it is a very elegant tea.”

VP of Operations

John Washko

“This leaves an essence of the wine on your palate, it leaves a taste that I’ve just come out of the wine room.”

Executive Chef

Antonio Cardoso

“The blend, it’s very soothing. For a white tea, I think it’s a great flavorful tea.”

Food and Beverage Manager

Lukasz Bolbot

“If you age it longer, it’s going to overpower the subtleties of the white tea so it’s a very fine game you know when it comes to aging.”

Executive Chef and General Manager

Trevor Kunk and Spencer Weiss

“I say a little bit of oak, jasmine, again the orange blossom or the honeysuckle blossom really resonates.”

Master Sommelier

Will Costello

“It’s very, very pretty. High toned and flowery is the dominant characteristic of this tea.”

2-Star Michelin Executive Chef

Shaun Hergatt

“It’s extremely balanced and has a refined flavor profile. There is a certain terroir you can taste that is given from the barrels.”

Winegrower

Frederick Ammons

“The fruit signature of cabernet, infused in the barrel adds a lifting, vibrant dimension to the warm, earthy character of the tea. It is a marriage of toast, floral, earth and structure.”

Managing Director

Oscar Henquet

“Here you get the floral notes, you get some of the vanilla notes, the smoky notes, and at the same time it is a very elegant tea.”

VP of Operations

John Washko

“This leaves an essence of the wine on your palate, it leaves a taste that I’ve just come out of the wine room.”

Executive Chef

Antonio Cardoso

“The blend, it’s very soothing. For a white tea, I think it’s a great flavorful tea.”

Food and Beverage Manager

Lukasz Bolbot

“If you age it longer, it’s going to overpower the subtleties of the white tea so it’s a very fine game you know when it comes to aging.”

Executive Chef and General Manager

Trevor Kunk and Spencer Weiss

“I say a little bit of oak, jasmine, again the orange blossom or the honeysuckle blossom really resonates.”