Nick Jackson, MW | August 27, 2024
It has been eight years since the legendary Châteauneuf-du-Pape producer Henri Bonneau died in 2016, but happily for us, we still have many of the great wines he produced available today. The estate is now in the hands of his son Marcel, who has continued his 'traditionalist to a fault' methods: harvesting ripe Grenache and aging for up to 10 years in a variety of large, neutral oak vessels until the wine is perceived as ready.
Bonneau's top wine is the Celestins, made of 90% Grenache (a few other local varieties making up the blend) from La Crau, an outstanding, rocky terroir in the heart of Châteauneuf. Celestins is one of France's greatest wines; a complex, seductive wine of immense hedonistic and intellectual conviction. The 2008, from a fresher vintage, is wonderful today; the 2009, from a towering vintage, will improve for at least another decade.
We are pleased also to offer Bonneau's Rouliers, usually a blend of two vintages, made from the same Grenache-dominant blend as Celestins, but from outside the Châteauneuf appellation, in the nearby Gard department. This is not only an affordable introduction to Bonneau, but moreover, a wonderful wine in its own right.
