Henri Bonneau, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Reserve Celestins

Decanted 2 hours. On the nose, I smelled black fruit, some leather and tobacco. Upon sipping, I tasted black fruit, blackberry, tobacco, leather, and some spice. It was a very aromatic wine and it got better as the night went on. I remember writing in my notes "What a wine" because it was that good that night. Everyone loved it. I think you can wait to drink it, but I would have no fear opening this again. I know I …

2016 vintage

Rhone theme lunch, served blind, popped & poured, looks old, thought old Rayas, v surprised a 09 Celestins, cloudy, excellent, cloudy red, definitely old skol made, last of the Mohicans, absolutely delicious 96

2009 vintage

Extremely tight and muted for the first hour to the point where it felt faulty. Eventually opened up beautifully. Do not open this vintage for at least several years or give it a multi-hour decant

2016 vintage

At a CdP dinner with many great wines this stood apart from the rest. Silky, smooth and sweet. Garrigue and herbs- everything in perfect balance. Drinking extremely well but also has a long life ahead.

2009 vintage

IMMENSE!

2016 vintage

SH’s red, served blind, guessing Burg, rich, dry tannins, tar, dry roses, shucks should have guessed Celestins, slow oxed for 4 hours, beautiful elegant Cdp with power & intrigue, mysterious, absolutely singing

2009 vintage

PnP. Expressive nose, flowers and herbs. Sweet and ultra fine tannins, already drinkable. Impressive silky texture. High alcohol showed up at backend, slightly hot finish. Ugh….15% ABV was just too high even with skillful blending of barrels. Not as good as ‘97 Marie Beurrier, looks like cool vintages are the way to go for me.

2009 vintage

For your information, here is the article by Bettane and Desseauve, the 2 best French wine critics: Our delay in reporting the passing of Henri Bonneau a week ago is due to our collective sadness. I could not find the words to say – to his son, in particular – how much we will miss him and share his great sorrow. Henri had become, in spite of himself, a legend, perhaps a myth despite the extreme modesty of his everyday …

2016 vintage

Out of this world and sort of contradicting the vnetage, vertical, elegant, chalky, almost stony, has real class and is drinking a point albeit on the young side. There is real terroir here - and plenty of old vine Grenache behind. #Schur#Skagen

2009 vintage

Easily my WOTN against other personal favorites including Rayas, Guigal La Landonne, and Vernay Vernon. A truly great vintage drinking at peak right now. Stunning fruit, bramble, garrigue. Magical.

2009 vintage

This is as good as CDP gets. Drank over two days and the wine was equally good on day two. A future legend and a wine of class and incredible elegance. Light and ethereal with a long and powerful finish. The best CDP, I have had but to be fair while I own many Celestines this is only my second enjoyed.

2016 vintage

Pure deep red and glossy. Ripe plums and berries with a lovely crushed herb and spice bouquet. Silky smooth texture, glides across the palate. Seems weightless, plenty of extremely fine tannins, very fine acidity, a long super smooth finish. Fleshy but not heavy, delicious ripe plum and cassis with a fine seam of dark tar spice. Drinking beautifully, aged ahead of it.

2009 vintage

Medium tannic grip, acid M+ and a classical herbal nose with aromas of garrique and more dried herbs. I thought.. this could be a CDP, but why does it look so young, and yet is so elegant. A very complex wine, and when unveiled by our kind host Patt0, it was clear why.. this CDP comes from the magnificent 2016 vintage, and it was not just any CDP. It is the iconic Réserve des Célestins! This is the late Henri …

2016 vintage

Dinner at avec River North (Chicago, IL) : Bonneau has this magic about it -- it's unmistakably CdP but actually tastes good. Very ripe and almost porty in character, with lots of sweet black and red fruit. It's a very intense wine, and the alcohol is present, but at the end of the day, what's more compelling is how amazingly balanced it is. A stellar wine, but one that probably would be more rewarding to drink with at least another …

2009 vintage

Wonderful but too young, keep for at least 5 more years

2009 vintage

Huge and ripe, dark purple near black. Decanted for half hour before pouring highly recommended , wine continues to bloom after 2 hours in the glass., showing more floral and ferrous notes . High alcohol is well carried, but for the bit of heat on the finish. Elegant , but still Too rich for a lightly seasoned steak tartare, but perfect with braised lamb neck and root veggies at Charleston. This presents as ripe, but not stewed, well structured with …

2009 vintage

Incredible wine, the best ever made here, a future legend, be very patient! 2030-2060+++

2016 vintage

Seemingly light weight, but nevertheless complex classic CDP. All the expected elements are there...and so drinkable now.

2009 vintage

Saved this to share with a friend whose favorite CdP is Bonneau Celestins. Decanted two hours before first taste. We all thought that it's firmly in its drinking window but perhaps five years from true peak. So will save my other bottle for another five.

2009 vintage

Deep Ruby Pronounced aromas intensity of dark forest fruits, cherries, prunes, earth, leather, forest floor, mushrooms, tobacco, tea leaves, oak-vanilla Developed Dry, high acidity, high tannins, high abv, high complexity, long finish, Pronounced flavors intensity consistent with the aromas. Outstanding wine. Drink now, at peak, though can be aged further.

2009 vintage

La Tablee: Bonneau retrospective (Mercerie) : Interesting - apparently two of the hottest vintages on record are 2003 and 2009. Not sure that I realized that. Again a bit more of the black fruit style. Well structured. Lightly floral (nothing like what the '14 was). Drinks too young as all in this flight do, but a nice wine.

2009 vintage

Huge wine, very ripe and forward, slightly hot on the finish. Definitely needs some air, this is pure power and fruit right now. Still classy and very well made, but definitely not subtle. Reminded me of Sine Qua Non at first. Perhaps a few years of age will help this mellow out.

2009 vintage

J'ai beaucoup aimé ce vin mais me suis rarement aussi planté sur un Châteauneuf....Je lui trouvais un magnifique nez de nebiolo (l'anis). C’est soyeux, élégant, magnifiquement équilibré, avec un côté viril et plutôt austère/terreux (me confortant dans mon choix). J’étais persuadé d’avoir affaire à un grand Barolo. Un vin plus sérieux que voluptueux à ce stade, promis à un développement harmonieux. 93-94+ pts

2009 vintage

Wow. Hard to know whether to begin with the elegance—so lightweight, so fragrant, so polished—or the intensity and complexity of the flavors and smells: rich plum and blueberry, baking spices, earthy notes…like a rum-drenched dessert or Christmas fruitcake, except that instead of being cloying/syrupy it’s zingy and fresh and vibrant and balanced…like some of my favorite Bordeaux, drinking this transports me to a vision of snuggling up by a fire in a ski cabin in the middle of winter. The …

2009 vintage

Coming back to after a few years. Opened for 3 hours. Color is nice ruby. On the nose: Kirsch, Strawberry and hint of Provençal herbs. On the palate: Strawberry, kirsch, and lavender with Provençal herbs. Tannins still prominent on back end. It’s a great wine and built to last. I think will continue to improve with age. My next bottle will wait till winter when the meals will be a heartier match as it’s a big wine.

2009 vintage

[Blind] High toned, somewhat floral, and moderately expressive nose. Sweet red berry. Youthful and flashy. Aromatically sort of suggests young Right Bank Bordeaux but the palate is a little too soft given the youth. Texturally more like young Pinot? Some unresolved tannin. Elegant but has power. Developing a faint rusticity and earth influence. Palate delivers power and punch with softer edges. 93 - 94.

2009 vintage

Lovely wine balanced and approachable even though young but just not as expressive and giving at this stage. Has the structure and potential. The 07 has the edge tonight but the 09 maybe in 3-5 years.

2009 vintage

Dessert island wine. Had my first one in Paris 15 years ago at Plaza Athenee with my wife and our infant daughter while listening to Cole Porter. Great memories. Needs time to develop. I gave 2 hours but should be more. Massive tannins. This wine is still young. Blackberries and strawberries with loads of spice , just a hint of fruit sweetness and tar. I splurged and bought 3 cases in an auction. I wanted to try one bottle. I …

2009 vintage

A more civilized style of Celestins, the wine is incredibly ripe, but not overripe. Round, soft, forward and concentrated, the fruit is clean, spicy, earthy and fresh. Interestingly, at this time, the wine is disarmingly easy to drink with just an hour or 2 of air.

2009 vintage

Bright fruit color, long legs glistening down the side of the glass. Gorgeous nose. A lot of tannin. Yes to drinking to soon but why not, I am 62 and this will last forever. It's a strong buy.

2009 vintage

Dark red, nutmeg, spices, complex aromas, very good nose, full bodied, rich, of course still young but was drinking well, long, delicious 95+

2009 vintage

After reading that Henri Bonneau had passed, we thought we should try one of his wines. The 2009 is drinking very well: deep mahagony red, with a wild nose of roast beef and Provençal herbs, ripe blackberries and tar. The wine is more drinkable than I expected, almost soft in the mouth, and the ripeness of the fruit is countered by enough acidity to provide lift and balance. A great bottle, by a great winemaker...

2009 vintage

Bonneau Tasting (Graz, Austria) : Bricking, a little harsh on nose, very vibrant though. Medium full body, sweet attack, some signs of age, plump dried fruit but massive tannins, Very long finish.

1985 vintage

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Henri Bonneau, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Reserve Celestins

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