Tinto Pesquera, Ribera del Duero, Janus, Reserva 1994

Very high shoulder

95 Points CellarTracker

Before opening this bottle I looked at my notes from the previous ones, and I found a consistent pattern of a very unpleasant 30 to 60 minutes after pouring before the wine became enjoyable, and also a note to myself that this wine would probably benefit from decanting. So, although I'm not a fan of decanting in general, I decided to give it a try. It was a good idea. I started tasting the wine 50 minutes after decanting, which was indeed enough to bypass the unpleasant phase. Instead, I got rich baked plums, blackberries, tobacco, and cocoa, followed by an extremely long and intense aftertaste with a touch of bitterness. After another half hour, it was slightly but distinctly better, with an even more vivid aftertaste and hints of fennel and citrus added to the mix. Really a wonderful wine. It seems much too old when initially opened, but that's completely misleading. If you have this in your cellar, I'd personally suggest that you either open and pour the bottle at least 50 minutes before you're going to drink it or give it the same time in a decanter. If you only want the wine at its very best, I'd recommend giving it a full hour and 20 minutes, but if you'll enjoy following its development, 50 minutes is fine. [Tasted over more than 2 hours from the Jancis Robinson glass. I gave this bottle two weeks upright to allow the massive sediment to settle out. The cork was, as seems typical for this wine, completely soaked and ready to fall apart--the Durand opener was essential. The score reflects the wine an hour and 20 minutes after decanting.] Previously tasted 1/5/23, 3/3/21, 12/26/20, and 10/3/20. 2/25/2024

97 points Wine Advocate

I first wrote laudatory comments about Pesquera over a decade ago, so I am thrilled to see proprietor Alejandro Fernandez continue to build on his noteworthy track record. His new releases are splendid. What a joy it is to write about the 1994 Janus. Fernandez has only made this super-luxury cuvee in 1982, 1986, and 1991. The 1994 Janus may be the greatest Pesquera ever made. This wine is awesome in its richness, intensity, and potential complexity. It is a gentle giant, with no hard edges, and profound levels of rich, concentrated black fruits nicely meshed with smoky, spicy new oak. It is an opulent, accessible yet still unformed wine that should provide fabulous drinking for 12-15 years. Given its sweetness and lush personality, no one will be committing infanticide by drinking this marvelous wine in its youth. (10/1997)

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