Wine Advisor
Henri Bonneau, Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins 2010
View analysis
Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Vivid ruby. An expansive, highly perfumed bouquet evokes dark fruit preserves, smoky Indian spices and lavender, and a mineral element gains power with air. Fleshy, sappy and concentrated, offering intense blackberry and boysenberry flavors braced and lifted by juicy acidity. The spice and mineral notes repeat emphatically on the extremely long, focused finish, which is framed by velvety tannins that meld effortlessly with the plush dark fruit. The combination of richness and vivacity here is awfully impressive. This was the last wine bottled by Henri Bonneau before he passed away on March 21, 2016.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Saturated ruby. Intense mineral- and spice-accented aromas of candied black and blue fruits, floral pastilles and spicecake. Velvety and expansive on the palate, with powerful black raspberry and cherry-cola flavors lifted and sharpened by juicy acidity. Shows outstanding depth and focus on the tenacious finish, with supple, harmonious tannins coming in late. Conveys a surprisingly cuddly personality for a '10 but this highly concentrated wine has plenty of structure for aging.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Saturated ruby. A complex bouquet evokes black and blue fruit preserves, licorice, pungent herbs and floral oils. Smooth, sweet and expansive, offering intense cassis and boysenberry flavors and a hint of bitter chocolate. Impressively sweet and focused on the endless finish, which leaves notes of spicecake and dark berries behind.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Inky ruby. Deeply pitched aromas and flavors of blackberry, cassis, anise and violet. An altogether different beast than the Marie Beurrier, offering intense dark fruit compote flavors and a sexy note of lavender pastille. Finishes with resonating spiciness, building tannins and superb persistence.
Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck
The 2010 Châteauneuf du Pape Reserve des Célestins is thrilling. Deeply colored, with classic iron, mineral, pepper and roasted-meat-like notes, it has mouth-filling levels of fruit, big structure and almost overflowing character. Bonneau said that this was showing too well at this stage, but I actually found it to be a classic 2010 with good acidity, ample concentration and brilliant length.
Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck
Schedule to be bottled next week (I suspect it will be in bottle by the time you read this), the 2010 Châteauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins is a sensational effort. Deeper, richer and more concentrated than the Marie Beurrier, it reveals an unusually inky ruby/purple color to go with overflowing notes of kirsch liqueur, roasted meats, crushed flowers, garrigue and just about every other Provençal spice you could name. Full-bodied, beautifully concentrated, layered and a blockbuster-styled effort, it should surpass the 2007 and possibly rival the 1990. This is a tour de force in Châteauneuf du Pape!
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Deep ruby. Larger-scaled and more powerful wine than the previous sample, offering black raspberry and anise scents and flavors along with notes of pungent herbs and candied licorice. Broad and fleshy but bright, finishing with excellent power and sappy persistence.
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.
