Reserve des Célestin CNP 2006

Parker 94 points: So, with no further ado, the 2006 Henri Bonneau Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reserve des Celestins (this bottle was the only wine not tasted at the domaine and was purchased and reviewed by me last year) is a blend of 85% Grenache, and 15% assorted varieties, that’s aged all in older barrel and foudre. Exhibiting a dense ruby/purple color, it is incredibly old-school on the nose with loads of roasted Provencal herbs, meat juice, plum sauce, game, and licorice aromas all showing up. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, with a full, fleshy mid-palate, superb ripeness, and a solid finish, this textbook Chateauneuf du Pape opens up beautifully in the glass and is a joy to drink. With no hard edges and an approachable feel, it is superb now, but should also age gracefully for 12-15 years. 

A great, and eye opening, visit that goes to show that sanitation might not be everything when it comes to winemaking, Henri Bonneau’s cellar is as incredibly humid, dirty and packed a cellar as I’ve ever seen. (In comparison, Rayas, which would give some Central Coast winemakers a heart attack, seems as sanitary as the International Space Station.) Nevertheless, Bonneau portrays a zest for life and the sweet nectar that comes out of the barrels could come from nowhere else. It’s also times like that when you realize how lucky we are, as wine lovers today, to have the access to a gentleman like Henri Bonneau and to be able to taste his wines. They won’t exist forever. During the visit, we went through every vintage back to 2005, however, due to the incredible time in barrel prior to bottling (some wines spend upward of 5 years in barrel), I question the correlation to what I tasted to what will actually end up in barrel (or the use of reviewing 2012s and 2011s now, when they won’t be released for years). As such, I’ve opted to just review the 2009s, 2008 (which is in bottle), the 2007 (which, based on my tasting, could be bottled tomorrow and be fabulous) and the 2006, which I reviewed last year for the Rhone Report.