Janasse Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes 2005

98 points Jeb Dunnuck (Wine Advocate): "The 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes was slightly off at the tasting, but I was able to taste it stateside, from a magnum no less. Stunning on all accounts, with awesome elegance and purity that’s backed up by serious richness and depth, it gives up loads of roasted herbs, black licorice, charred meats and black fruits to go with a full-bodied, layered and silky profile on the palate. I’ve been lucky enough to have been through numerous bottles of this over the past few years, and it’s just now starting to shed some of its baby fat, integrate its tannin (which are still present) and open up. Give it another year in the cellar and enjoy it over the following decade. (Aug 2014)"

98 points Robert Parker: "Absolutely profound, and certainly one of the vintage’s great wines is the 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes. Inky plum/ruby/purple to the rim, with a big, sweet nose of melted licorice, smoked meats, blackberries, cassis, and earth, the wine is deep, powerful, full-bodied, with fabulous concentration, purity, and a multi-dimensional mouthfeel. The finish goes on for close to a minute. Forget this wine for 2-5 years and drink it over the following 25+ years. (Oct 2007)"

97 points Wine Spectator: "Has a gorgeous mouthfeel, with intense, racy layers of boysenberry, raspberry ganache and fig that pump along velvety tannins while notes of Turkish coffee, mocha, fruitcake and chocolate fill in the background. The superlong finish flaunts power and depth, but stays pure and refined. Drink now through 2032. 1,530 cases made. (11/15/07)"

97 points (18.5/20) La Revue du Vin de France (Jan 2008).

96 points Josh Raynolds (International Wine Cellar): "Opaque ruby. Remarkably pure raspberry, boysenberry and floral aromas are eerily similar to a great Vosne-Romanee, with an exotic array of floral and incense qualities adding complexity. Uncanny for its combination of depth, sweetness and finesse, with suave minerality building exponentially through the finish. Flat-out stunning wine, and one of the greatest examples of young Chateauneuf I have ever tasted. I can't wait to actually drink it. (Jan/Feb 2008)"