2006 Chateauneuf du Pape
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Tasting notes
The 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins, which should be bottled in 2012, had its best showing yet. Notes of soy, beef blood, kirsch, garrigue, licorice and tapenade make this a classic, expansive, full-bodied Chateauneuf du Pape that should turn out to be a great sleeper from this cellar. It could be similar to Bonneau’s 1986, which was probably the wine of the vintage in Chateauneuf du Pape. It should drink well for 25-30+ years. 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
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
The 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape Marie Beurrier (probably) offers aromas of Asian soy, balsam wood, underbrush, garrigue, pepper and black cherries. It is a dark ruby-hued, medium-bodied, spicy, earthy effort. Henri Bonneau, who is now 70 years of age, continues to make Chateauneuf du Pape the way it was made 50-100 years ago ... long cask aging in old barrels and bottling it, as he says jokingly, “when I need money.” A visit to these cellars is always one of my most rewarding of the year. The barrels and foudres that will probably be used in the Cuvee Marie Beurrier all have the letter “G” on them and everything with Reserve des Celestins potential has the letter “P” on it. Bonneau went through a litany of the issues that confronted the 2009 vintage, particularly the drought that affected much of the Grenache planted in many of Chateauneuf du Pape’s terroirs, and he reminded me that he had predicted it would be a problem when I saw him last year. Bonneau continues to claim the 2007s are too showy and flamboyant to ever develop into a great, long-lived vintage. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173
(from young vines, probably for Marie Beurrier) Zesty red berry and mineral aromas, with a suave undercurrent of flowers. Tangy and focused, offering strawberry and raspberry flavors, silky texture and dusty tannins. With its impressive elegance and cut, this looks impressive.
Bright ruby. Racy, mineral-dominated bouquet displays vivid red berry and floral qualities, with a slow-building anise quality. Lush and sweet but focused, with sweet raspberry and candied cherry flavors, supple tannins and a gently gripping finish. This is quite elegant, even refined. "Pretty much all grenache," said Bonneau.
About the producer
This very old-school property makes the most unique Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The wines are fantastically complex and Boneauu made it as it would have been produced 100 years ago in the commune, using methods that familiar to any of the 11 generations of vignerons in his family who preceded him.
Product details
Grenache/ Garnacha , Syrah / Shiraz, Counoise, Syrah / Shiraz, Vaccarese
Red
Dry