Vin de France Les Rouliers Henri Bonneau & Fils

Lot presentation

Vin de France Les Rouliers Henri Bonneau & Fils

The wine

Les Rouliers is produced from a 2.5-hectare Gard vineyard of old Grenache and Cinsault vines, acquired in 2001. This wine is officially entitled to be sold under the Côtes-du-Rhône appellation, but Henri Bonneau took the decision to opt instead for a Vin de France classification. Like the rest of the domain's wines, Les Rouliers has benefited from a long élevage in barrique barrels. The wine delivers aromas of spice (pepper, sweet spices), fruit (plum), musk and scrubland. The palate reveals a great balance between roundness and freshness. Its length is impressive.

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.