Wine Advisor
Henri Bonneau, Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins 1999
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Interesting to plot the evolution of this wine in the glass. Captivating bouquet at first, tertiary scents, wild mushroom, animal fur, a touch of tar and cured meats, developing more dark chocolate aromas with time. The palate is medium-bodied with good acidity, notes of mulberry, game, tobacco and Provencal herbs that is all so exquisitely balanced and harmonious. It improves over the first 30 minutes but then takes its foot off the accelerator with time in the glass. Drink now-2018. Tasted June 2010.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins, which Bonneau compares to his great 1986 (the wine of the vintage for this appellation), is a full-bodied, chewy, macho-styled effort possessing plenty of muscle as well as tannin. Aromas of pepper, new saddle leather, prunes, Italian sausage, and earthy truffle notes are followed by a big, dense, backward wine that will require 4-5 years of cellaring after its release. It reminded me of the tannic, closed 1995 more than the 1986, but I’ll defer to Bonneau’s expertise since he gets to drink these wines more often than I do. In any event, the 1999 should be at its finest between 2008-2020+. If readers want to know what Chateauneuf du Pape tasted like 100 or 200 years ago, this is it. Long live Henri Bonneau! Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A deep garnet/ruby hue with mahogany rim. The nose is a little subdued with touches of burnt toast, blackberry leaf and black pepper with that beefy aroma developing in the glass. The palate is fairly tannic, beautifully balanced and very focused. Masculine, broody, great length with a sense of natural balance and charming rusticity. A more genteel Celestins. Drink 2010-2025 Tasted November 2006.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The top cuvees of 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape (in all likelihood Reserve des Celestins) are sensational, and quite possibly the most concentrated 1999 Chateauneuf du Papes I tasted. It would appear to be a great vintage for Henri Bonneau, with wines of extraordinary thickness, ripeness, and concentration. Total production at Bonneau is about 1,500 cases in a good year, but thanks to the insistence of Bonneau's American importer, Alain Junguenet, our country is getting several hundred cases. This is the quintessential artisinal winery, and Henri Bonneau is one of the planet's greatest and most distinctive winemakers. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Henri Bonneau released the 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins (one of the finest wines of the vintage) in 2004. Although slightly austere and closed at present, it offers a wonderful bouquet of smoked meats, ground pepper, sweet kirsch, currants, blood, herbs, and God knows what else. Rich and medium to full-bodied, but tannic and closed, it requires 3-4 years of cellaring, and should drink well for two decades. One of the controversies surrounding Henri Bonneau is what happened to those cuvees that were supposed to go into the Cuvee Marie Beurrier in 1998. Bonneau has maintained over the last several years that everything was so spectacular in 1998 that there would be no Marie Beurrier. But, he did bottle a tiny quantity prior to the harvest in 2004 to satisfy one of his European customers. However, I do not believe any of that wine will be allocated to America (unless it comes through the grey market) since so little was made, and the quality was so high in 1998 that all of the cuvees that fermented dry will be designated as Reserve des Celestins. That said, one never is quite sure what Henri Bonneau intends to do until the wine is in bottle. Readers should be prepared for just about anything. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Bonneau’s 1999 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve des Celestins was utterly captivating right out of the bottle. It showed marvelous depth and richness at first, but then lost some intensity over several hours. A mélange of candied cherries, herbs and dried flowers lingered on the finish.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright ruby. Great ripe, flamboyant grenache aromas of slightly medicinal but sappy black cherry, smoked meat and leather. Expressive, fat and rich, with a chocolatey ripeness and lovely depth of flavor. "Almost too much today," notes Bonneau, though this description by Bonneau has never in my experience been a criticism. Finishes very long, with fine tannins and notes of leather and pepper. Ultimately less dense than the '98, but this wine offers considerable potential.
About the Producer
Domaine Henri Bonneau's reputation is as legendary as its owner, Henri Bonneau. Its rustic home in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation in the Rhone Valley is situated at the end of a village, its cellars overflowing with large and small aged oak barrels and its stone walls covered in potholes. Dirty cellars, old mouldy barrels, all these conditions are a winemaker's nightmare. But it was here that the Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reserve des Celestins was made, which has been praised by wine drinkers all over the world; it was here that Bonneau brewed his philosophy of a happy nature into the aromas of his wine; it was here that Bonneau brewed the treasures from the La Crau plateau. It is here that Bonneau has turned the treasures of La Crau into an exceptional wine. Henri Bonneau himself determines each speciality, which is graded according to its quality: Henri Bonneau, Marie Beurrier, Reserve des Celestins and Cuvee Speciale, which may be just one of the four or all four. But no matter how they are blended, the winemaking is the same. What also makes Château Henri Bonnot unique is the ageing of the barrels, which come from the Burgundy region and date back to the 17th century. A visit to Henri's cellars is therefore like walking into a museum. The wines produced here are usually aged for more than six years before being bottled unfiltered after Bonnot himself has tasted them. The result is a wine with a powerful bouquet, balanced flavours and a long finish, particularly in the case of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape Célestins Reserve red wine, of which around 1,500 cases are produced each year. The best vintages of Château Henri Bonnot have the distinctive taste of concentrated bovine blood, powerfully combined with a thick and viscous texture. The best recent vintages are the 2003, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1995, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1986, 1985 and 1981.
