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Parker 97 points/Looking at the 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins, which was tasted out of barrel at the domaine, it offers up a singular, exotic profile that shows the vintage perfume and freshness, as well as the slightly feral quality of this estate. Kirsch liqueur, roasted herbs, blackberry, cured meats, lavender, incense and ground pepper are just some of the nuances here. This full-bodied, concentrated effort hits the palate with authoritative richness and depth, yet stays incredibly light, fresh and even elegant. Already approachable, with a drop-dead gorgeous texture, it should certainly be worth the extra effort to track down once released.
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.
Wine Description
The Story
The massive and powerful Réserve des Celestins is generally sourced from Bonneau's vines in La Crau, whose boulder-strewn plateau produces Châteauneuf's ripest fruit. Cuvée Marie Beurrier, Bonneau's more elegant wine, usually comes from clay, limestone and sandy soils.