Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins Henri Bonneau & Fils 2007

Lot presentation

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve des Célestins Henri Bonneau & Fils 2007

The wine

Cuvée Réserve des Célestins is probably the most powerful of Henri Bonneau's Châteauneuf wines. It is selectively blended from the best barrique barrels, and only in great vintages. For this reason, this wine is available only in certain years.The grapes are not destemmed, and vinification takes place in traditional concrete vats. Elevage is split between old wooden tuns and French oak barrique barrels, taking 3 to 5 years. With extraordinary depth and complexity, it develops solid, generous aromas of smoke, pepper and black and red berries.

Henri Bonneau, who died in 2016, was the 12th generation in his family to make wine and one of the most respected producers of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. His very high quality wines had a unique personality. The 6-hectare vineyard is planted primarily to Grenache (85%) and supplemented by small amounts of Mourvèdre, Counoise and Vaccarese. Although Henri Bonneau never considered converting to organic farming, he ran his vineyard the “old-fashioned” way: no chemical products, low yields, grapes harvested at optimum ripeness, indigenous yeasts during fermentation and long élevage periods of 4 to 10 years. His wines stand out for their complexity, and although very concentrated they have remarkable, if not astonishing, finesse. The various cuvées he produced in limited volumes are particularly hard to come by. Since his death, it goes without saying that there is a fight to get hold of his wines.