1994 Bodegas Alejandro Fernández Ribera del Duero Janus Gran Reserva Pesquera

Community Tasting Notes (108) Avg Score: 92.8 points

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  2/25/2024 - SpenceP wrote: 95 Points

  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.

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  2/7/2024 - Gregmonroe wrote:

  WWC - NJH1122 (Fort Worth Club): Tasted blind - deep and brooding in the glass, not at all transparent. Very dense. Port-like nose, with raisin and prune; on the palate, there was some fruit, but mostly stewed or dried fruit. High tannins. Very tertiary profile, but long finish. Guessed a 40 year old amarone. I was nowhere near tempranillo.

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  2/7/2024 - NJH1122 Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Nose had roses and earthy tones. The flavor was complex but definitely aged with the secondary flavors coming through. I believe it drank best in the the first hour but still held on from there.

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  1/5/2023 - SpenceP wrote: 94 Points

  (Previously tasted 3/3/2021, 12/26/2020, and 10/3/2020.) The cork was in acceptable shape this time. Immediately after opening, the wine was a bit unpleasant, with tar and bitterness overwhelming everything else. After about half an hour or a bit more in the glass, however, this became a lovely wine, with tobacco, olives, black plums, smoke, cedar, bitter chocolate, licorice, coffee, faint spices, and an exceptionally long aftertaste. After about an hour and a quarter, the fruit briefly became *more* prominent. [Tasted from both the Jancis Robinson glass and the Conterno glass--much more enjoyable from the Jancis Robinson glass. The score and description reflect this glass. I gave this bottle two weeks upright before opening to allow the sediment to settle.]

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  10/20/2022 - lolo66 wrote: 93 Points

  still a baby and needs to time to decoil its super intense and concentrated center. cherry, herbs, lead pencil shavings - persistent intensity

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