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Collecting Q&A: Inglenook Napa Valley Reunion 1983

Peter D. Meltzer

Posted: Thursday, July 17, 2008

Q: I have a mystery bottle in my cellar. I have no recollection of its purchase, or who may have given it to me. It is an '83 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Estate Bottled Reserve Cask, Reunion. What can you tell me about this wine?—George Strate, Vail, Colo.

A: The Wine Spectator Auction Index shows a price of $32 per bottle for the Inglenook-Napa Valley Reunion Napa Valley, from a sale in 2007. In 1987, it scored 88 on the Wine Spectator 100-point scale with the following comments:

"Cedar and menthol characters tend to outshine the fruit at this stage, with lots of tannin and some pretty fair Cabernet fruit and even an underlying silky texture. Big and powerful, very woody and definitely for the cellar."

Keep in mind those notes were written more than 20 years ago: I would drink up soon as it is probably past peak.

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