Rutherford Lane Cabernet Sauvignon – Rutherford For The Rest of Us

Last Updated on July 30, 2025

A rare budget Cab from this exclusive AVA in Napa Valley, the Rutherford Lane Cabernet Sauvignon from Trader Joe’s.

Rutherford Lane Cabernet Sauvignon - Rutherford For The Rest of Us

Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford, Napa Valley, California. There’s no info on how the wine was made but it obviously has some form of oak influence.

The Rutherford Lane Cabernet Sauvignon is available exclusively at Trader Joe’s for $19.99.

From the bottle:

Rutherford is one of the smallest appellations in the Napa Valley, and home to perhaps the most expensive soils. This famed slice of land is the source of many limited production, widely sought after wines, and we take great pride in bringing you the best it has to offer.

14.1% Alcohol

Cabernet from the highly exclusive Rutherford AVA in Napa Valley is not cheap. In fact, the wine-searcher June 2020 average price for Rutherford Cab is over $100 a bottle! And while we agree that this is a special spot for Cab, we certainly don’t agree with these kind of prices. As such, we’re always interested when one falls under our normal $20 limit.

The 2017 Rutherford Lane Cabernet Sauvignon begins with quite a pleasing aroma of plum, blackberry, spice, leather and licorice and it develops even more secondary aromas as it has some time to breathe.

The wine tastes of juicy dark berry fruit with wonderful well-integrated spice and vanilla notes. Smooth with slightly chewy tannins this is just a really delicious Cabernet.

It ends dry, a bit grippy and long and yes it even has a bit of that famous Rutherford dust on the finish. This one is ready to drink now so I probably wouldn’t age it too long.

2017 Rutherford Lane Cabernet Sauvignon

TASTE: 9       COST: 1
OVERALL RATING: 7

Recommended Buy

As always you can find an updated list of our recommended wines from Trader Joe’s as well as more info on their pricing model and some tips and tricks for shopping the store here.

The Best Wines at Trader Joe's - The Reverse Wine Snob Picks

You can also find more of our favorite Cabernet Sauvignon here!

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Jon Thorsen

ABOUT JON THORSEN

Author and independent wine consumer helping millions of people find great wines without breaking the bank since 2011. Sign up for my FREE GUIDE to learn how! Read more about me...