I received the golden ticket for the 86|87 Red Blend. Amazingly, this was sent to me in June and I’ve been longingly staring at it for two months (almost to the day) waiting to taste. Finally received the word it was going up today.
As I have never heard of this winery, it was exciting to try something new. The bottle had no mention what made up the blend, merely that the alcohol was 15%. Wow. Let’s see what’s in store.
The cork had a slight stain, no sediment. Upon pop 'n pour, a nice ruby red color and as I swirled and waited… and waited… and still waited, no legs. Odd. Initial scent was alcohol. Very strong, no other scent. First taste, same. No discernable flavors. I waited about 20 minutes before I tried again. Swirl, no legs. Smell – plums, possibly cherries, maybe a hint of vanilla? Taste – much better. I could now taste the fruit, but not overwhelming, and the alcohol had mostly dissipated. I took a few more sips and thought to myself that this must have Cab mixed in the blend.
Poured another small glass to taste with food. We had prime filet, shrimp in a garlic butter sauce, baked potatoes, and caprese salad with pesto. Here is where I found it interesting. It was delightful with the pesto and shrimp, but turned terribly bitter and almost undrinkable with the steak. The steak was cooked on charcoal and seasoned with only salt and fresh cracked pepper. Perhaps it was the charcoal that made the pairing a mismatch. I tried it again and still the same bitterness came though. The pesto and shrimp brought out a smoothness. I recorked the bottle and saved it for day 2.
On day two, I poured a large CM glass (those suckers can hold some wine!), recorked the remainder of the bottle, and passed it on to my fellow casemate, @james for him and his lovely bride to taste as we all social distanced.
Day 2: I swirled and still no legs. Scent was similar, but maybe more vanilla. I’m not picking up any peppery spice. Taste – similar to day one, but the flavors have blended together and seem like a cohesive unit. Cherries, and still plum. Nothing was overpowering. I think this is better on day two. Today was pasta with a red sauce and pork. That was lovely. Tried it later with pepper jack cheese and that was a big no go. Nice on its own; no food required.
Day 3: I had just enough for a few sips so I poured into a bottle and let it sit overnight. Took one for the team this morning and went through the ritual again. Swirl, no legs. I’m still shaking my head. Scent – plums and cherries; more vanilla. Taste – this is where it has lost some of its oomph; slight astringent taste. Would recommend to drink over two days.
My overall impression is this needs air upon initial opening. The profile is very smooth and soothing, like comfort food or a blanket in a bottle. I could be making that up, but that was how it made me feel when I drank it. This would be nice on a cold winter evening or after a long day regardless of the temperatures outside (it was 100 here yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed it!). The wine is dry with no hint of sweetness, but didn’t suck the moisture out of my mouth. Not fruit forward. It left me wanting another sip. My first thought on day 1 was this would be a good wine for non-red drinkers and red drinkers alike. As I have hundreds of bottles thanks to @winedavid49, I’m not interested in cases of everyday drinkers as the black tie/special occasion wines have now become my everyday drinkers. After day 2, I decided this was something I wanted in the cellar. It’s not Rushmore (anyone for a clue…), but I really enjoyed the flavor profile later on day one and on day two. This is nice at the case price and I’m in. Thank you Alice, WD, and 86|87 for the opportunity to labrat. It was worth the wait!

Adding to the rattage from @chefjess (thank you so much!) – Danielle and I did enjoy the Day 2 8687, and also noted the plum and possibly vanilla, but not overpoweringly. Danielle at first taste thought it was a little tart then gave a pleasant “mm!” seconds later, haha. I do like a nicely aged, not-so-fruit-forward red and I’d say this blend did not disappoint. Legs made their appearance for me and I thought I could even see some bricking.

Saved a bit to sip later with some tortellini soup made with home grown garden veggies that somehow became more tortellini than soup, but what I found that I was really missing was another glass

So curiosity piqued when I read the write-up here. I met and visited Jeffrey a few times back when he was working on the Shifflett Estate project. It was always a pleasure. Definitely some good chops behind this but can’t say I ever heard of 86|87. Dug up this old article for a little background:

https://napavalleyregister.com/business/napa-native-forsakes-law-to-press-his-luck-with-winemaking/article_a5206a78-59db-52b7-b63e-384bb4268672.html

Also if you are familiar with William & Mary Wine Company Cabernet Shifflett Vineyard this is where their cab is sourced. William being Will Segui from Rivers-Marie and Mary his wife who is another of Jeffrey Shifflett’s sisters if I have it right.

William and Mary cabs are some of my favorite cabs right now and I have been buying for a few releases, Shifflett is great cab fruit! And you/your family are doing a great job growing it. My question is why blend in syrah?

Interesting name choice. I think I would have called the place 96|97. Although, if I were the one making the wine i’d probably end changing the name to Overpromised|Underdelivered.

I’m assuming it would be insanity to ship wine to Texas in August. Tell me why I’m wrong. I’ve seen some good deals but keep having to pass because of the heat.