• ledwards wrote: 92 points

    December 5, 2016 - Surprising youthful and bright. Cherry and cranberry with a touch of honey. Seems to be on a very long plateau.

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  • ledwards wrote: 93 points

    May 23, 2012 - Burgundian nose, balanced and pleasant to smell. No barnyard what so ever. With 45 minutes of air it was lovely. Browning a bit at the edges and breaking down slightly but soft, balanced and still in the zone. Ahh, when aged CNP is on, its dreamy. I aim to try another bottle in the next month or so and hope variation won't plague this modest pleasure.

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  • David Paris (dbp) wrote: 92 points

    January 17, 2009 - Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the '80s and '90s (Tabla, Portland, OR): This wine did a lot more for me than the other reviewers here. Poured just 15 minutes after opening. Nose is very rich and thick, showing flowers and ground beef. Mature dark fruits on the mid-palate, along with the same flowers from the nose. Raw kobe beef on the finish, still tannic on the backend, but very integrated and drinking in a great place today. Nice blend of fruit and secondary earth flavors. Very interesting and enjoyable.

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  • John Nezlek wrote: 88 points

    October 17, 2008 - The best of the lot. Nicely balanced, fruit still present. Needs a little time for "whatever" to burn off, but all in all a decent bottle. I am not certain how much time there is left for this one. I would not buy any unless the provenance was very good and I planned to drink it immediately.

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  • John Nezlek wrote: 87 points

    April 27, 2008 - Decanted for an hour or so. Through the first half of the bottle, some nice CDP spices, etc. The second half of the bottle (still pleasant) a little more tannins. Not disappointing, but also not that impressive.

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  • Brad L wrote:

    March 29, 2008 - Nice, plush, diffuse, a bit pruney, classic old CNP. I prefer the Chaupin in this vintage, which is edgier and more aggressive and has more going on. Took a bit to open. Still, a good bottle.

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  • Leigh - GrapeRadio wrote: 89 points

    November 27, 2007 - Have to agree fully with Brad L's review on this wine. Its drinking great and I found it changes dramatically (in a good way) after being opened for 1 hour plus. Its great to just nose this wine for the first 1/2 hour its open and then ease into it as the awakeneing begins. There wasn't much going on when first opened, and over the evening it just came to life. We A/B'd with the 93 Chaupin. Interestingly the Chaupin started with a stronger stance right out of the bottle, then eased up and integrated. After an hour of decanting both, I favored the Chaupin slightly; but its a more ravishing wine vs the classier VV. This VV is a wonderful wine from a solid house in a tough year.

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  • Brad L wrote:

    November 9, 2007 - This wine is all there and then some. Beautiful older CNP, great complexity, in a slightly riper older VT style. Compared to the 93 Chaupin, more fruit, somewhat more complex and higher class, less in the meat and underbrush department. True to the Janasse VV form - very classy and a real pleasure, sensual but not over the top. Nothing wrong with this vintage, at least from this producer. Classic aged top flight CNP. From a perfect bottle (the cork looked brand new).

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  • John Nezlek wrote: 85 points

    November 6, 2007 - This bottle was a little disappointing. I did not expect it to be perfect -- it's a little too old for that -- but the tannins were a bit strong, particularly at first. They softened through the bottle, suggesting that decanting might help. Interestingly, the nose was very nice, making me somewhat optimistic about the other bottles I have. Nevertheless, I suspect this bottle was past its prime.

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