Wine Advisor
Henri Bonneau, Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins 2005
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Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck
Surprisingly, the 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins was much more open, rounded and sexy than the more austere, angular Marie Beurrier. This is a gorgeous, classic effort by Bonneau that's overflowing with notions of sweet Grenache fruit, Provencal garrigue, cured meats, beef blood and spice. The aromatics alone are worth the price of admission, and the palate doesn't lose a beat, with full-bodied richness, a full, layered, concentrated mid-palate and sweet tannin on the finish. Like the Marie Beurrier, the acidity here is elevated, yet in this case, it's beautifully woven into the wine. It offers serious pleasure now, yet will have no problems continuing to evolve nicely for another 15+ years.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The vintage about which Bonneau is most excited is the 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins. This is the type of wine that gets Bonneau “rocking and Rhoning,” so to speak. Structured, dense, tannic, powerful and obviously built for 30-40 years of longevity, it possesses a dense garnet/plum, murky color, great fruit and huge notes of lavender, soy, hoisin sauce, smoked duck, beef blood, black currants, plums and figs. This massive, concentrated wine finishes with excruciatingly high tannins and lots of structure. I can’t see this 2005 being ready for drinking for another 8-10 years, although the aromatics are worth the price of admission even if you don’t swallow the wine. This amazing Chateauneuf du Pape may turn out to be one of the two or three finest wines of the vintage as well as the longest lived. Visiting with Henri Bonneau at his subterranean wine cellar, which could easily double as a bat cave, is always one of the highlights of a year of wine tasting. This property began estate bottling in 1927, with Bonneau’s father, but can trace its history back hundreds of years. Of course, since the death of Jacques Reynaud of Rayas in 1997, Henri remains the patron saint of all things “ancien” in Chateauneuf du Pape. He is revered like no other producer in the village, and while getting an appointment is never easy, once he is familiar enough with someone, he is nothing less than a hoot and a howl to talk to and to taste with. As Harry Karis points out in his absolutely magnificent book on Chateauneuf du Pape, The Chateauneuf du Pape Wine Book, Bonneau’s favorite subjects are gastronomy, the Algerian War, and a third one that Harry didn’t mention, young women. Speaking with a Provencal twang, it’s not always easy to understand exactly what he’s saying, but his animated face and extraordinary passion for these subjects, as well as his own wines, are always a treat. Everything about Bonneau’s estate goes against modernism. The cellars are filthy, and the barrels range in age from 10 years old to probably over a century. He has a relatively small estate of just under 17 acres, and he doesn’t really bottle anything for at least five years. His most recent bottlings include the 2004 Cuvee Marie Beurrier and Reserve des Celestins and the 2005 Reserve des Celestins, which won’t be released until next year. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The powerful, massive, tannic 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins is a 30-year wine. Its dense plum color is followed by huge notes of Asian hoisin sauce, smoked meats, beef blood, kirsch, figs and black currants. This full-bodied 2005 may be the biggest, richest Chateauneuf du Pape Henri Bonneau has produced since his 1998. The tannins are still frightfully high, and the wine is structured and backward, but so, so promising. Forget this 2005 for another 5-7 years and drink it over the following three decades. Henri Bonneau was in the hospital recovering from an operation at the time of my visit, so my tasting notes are from wines I purchased at retail. His 2006s should be released in late 2012, and my pre-bottling notes on those wines were published in issue 197 (dated 10-31-11). The 2006 Reserve des Celestins was rated (94-96) and the already bottled 2006 Marie Beurrier received a score of 91. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
I would not be surprised to see the 2005 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins turn out to be one of Bonneau’s all-time greats. He thinks it is even more profound than the 1998, and may be as good as his 1990. It is extremely intense and rich, with full body, huge extract and tannin, monster levels of beef blood-like notes intermixed with garrigue, lavender, pepper, smoked game, and herbs. It has so much going on, it just blew me away. The huge tannins and extract suggest it will need at least a decade of cellaring, and could be a 40-50-year Chateauneuf du Pape. It will probably be released in 2011+! I can’t say enough about the great Henri Bonneau, who seems to be a bigger-than-life character in the spiritual rather than physical sense, and who is an inspiration for every young producer in the Rhone Valley. It is a privilege to taste there, and I am thrilled with how well the tastings went this year. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Full ruby. Huge, room-filling bouquet of blackberry compote, cherry, potpourri and cured tobacco, along with an intense spicy quality and a hint of orange zest. Palate-staining dark fruit flavors are braced by a strong mineral component and complicated by star anise and candied lavender nuances. Refuses to let up on the finish, which emphatically echoes the dark berry and lavender notes. There are tannins lurking in here but they're buried beneath this wine's powerful fruit.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Saturated ruby. Very ripe, slightly high-toned aromas of dark berries, singed plum, pipe tobacco and minerals. Densely packed, sweet and voluptuous, with very ripe blackcurrant, mulberry and violet pastille flavors enlivened by intense minerality. Impressively seamless, powerful wine that also displays terrific balance. Finishes very long and sweet, repeating the mulberry and floral notes. This looks to be a wine for the ages.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Powerful, expansive bouquet of raspberry, mulberry and potpourri, with a strong spiciness and a hint of smoky minerals. Deep, palate-saturating dark fruit flavors are lifted by slow-building minerality, which adds bite and focus. The finish refuses to let up and repeats the sweet dark fruit and floral notes. Who knows when this will be bottled?
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
(from vines in La Crau) Dark ruby. Intense spice and garrigue notes accent bright red berries and cherry on the nose. Offers terrific energy in the mouth, showing an array of red fruit tones lifted by nervy minerality and supported by fine-grained tannins. Finishes with lipsmacking, vivacious strawberry fruit and a strong mineral quality.
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.
