Pure deep red and glossy. Ripe plums and berries with a lovely crushed herb and spice bouquet. Silky smooth texture, glides across the palate. Seems weightless, plenty of extremely fine tannins, very fine acidity, a long super smooth finish. Fleshy but not heavy, delicious ripe plum and cassis with a fine seam of dark tar spice. Drinking beautifully, aged ahead of it.
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Dinner at avec River North (Chicago, IL): Bonneau has this magic about it -- it's unmistakably CdP but actually tastes good. Very ripe and almost porty in character, with lots of sweet black and red fruit. It's a very intense wine, and the alcohol is present, but at the end of the day, what's more compelling is how amazingly balanced it is. A stellar wine, but one that probably would be more rewarding to drink with at least another ten years in the cellar.
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Huge and ripe, dark purple near black. Decanted for half hour before pouring highly recommended , wine continues to bloom after 2 hours in the glass., showing more floral and ferrous notes . High alcohol is well carried, but for the bit of heat on the finish. Elegant , but still Too rich for a lightly seasoned steak tartare, but perfect with braised lamb neck and root veggies at Charleston. This presents as ripe, but not stewed, well structured with mostly integrated tannins, and peak now, with ten years of stability. What did it miss? Maybe just a hint of exotica, the sauvage and gamey blood and liquid rock found in less hot vintages here, where acidity is more available to harmonize with the intense ripe fruit.
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Saved this to share with a friend whose favorite CdP is Bonneau Celestins. Decanted two hours before first taste. We all thought that it's firmly in its drinking window but perhaps five years from true peak. So will save my other bottle for another five.
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Deep Ruby Pronounced aromas intensity of dark forest fruits, cherries, prunes, earth, leather, forest floor, mushrooms, tobacco, tea leaves, oak-vanilla Developed Dry, high acidity, high tannins, high abv, high complexity, long finish, Pronounced flavors intensity consistent with the aromas. Outstanding wine. Drink now, at peak, though can be aged further.
La Tablee: Bonneau retrospective (Mercerie): Interesting - apparently two of the hottest vintages on record are 2003 and 2009. Not sure that I realized that. Again a bit more of the black fruit style. Well structured. Lightly floral (nothing like what the '14 was). Drinks too young as all in this flight do, but a nice wine.
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Huge wine, very ripe and forward, slightly hot on the finish. Definitely needs some air, this is pure power and fruit right now. Still classy and very well made, but definitely not subtle. Reminded me of Sine Qua Non at first. Perhaps a few years of age will help this mellow out.
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J'ai beaucoup aimé ce vin mais me suis rarement aussi planté sur un Châteauneuf....Je lui trouvais un magnifique nez de nebiolo (l'anis). C’est soyeux, élégant, magnifiquement équilibré, avec un côté viril et plutôt austère/terreux (me confortant dans mon choix). J’étais persuadé d’avoir affaire à un grand Barolo. Un vin plus sérieux que voluptueux à ce stade, promis à un développement harmonieux. 93-94+ pts
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Wow. Hard to know whether to begin with the elegance—so lightweight, so fragrant, so polished—or the intensity and complexity of the flavors and smells: rich plum and blueberry, baking spices, earthy notes…like a rum-drenched dessert or Christmas fruitcake, except that instead of being cloying/syrupy it’s zingy and fresh and vibrant and balanced…like some of my favorite Bordeaux, drinking this transports me to a vision of snuggling up by a fire in a ski cabin in the middle of winter. The combination of the darkness and depth of the flavors and the airiness of the mouthfeel means it would pair well with almost everything. Barely any perceptible tannin, but the freshness suggests it still has a ways to age. 15% listed alcohol lends a sense of sweetness, but there’s no hint of any burning/turpentine-y sensation, as I often get with Chateauneuf or southern Spanish wines. Shame the great man passed, but I sure now get what all the fuss was about.
Coming back to after a few years. Opened for 3 hours. Color is nice ruby. On the nose: Kirsch, Strawberry and hint of Provençal herbs. On the palate: Strawberry, kirsch, and lavender with Provençal herbs. Tannins still prominent on back end. It’s a great wine and built to last. I think will continue to improve with age. My next bottle will wait till winter when the meals will be a heartier match as it’s a big wine.
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[Blind] High toned, somewhat floral, and moderately expressive nose. Sweet red berry. Youthful and flashy. Aromatically sort of suggests young Right Bank Bordeaux but the palate is a little too soft given the youth. Texturally more like young Pinot? Some unresolved tannin. Elegant but has power. Developing a faint rusticity and earth influence. Palate delivers power and punch with softer edges. 93 - 94.
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Lovely wine balanced and approachable even though young but just not as expressive and giving at this stage. Has the structure and potential. The 07 has the edge tonight but the 09 maybe in 3-5 years.
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Dessert island wine. Had my first one in Paris 15 years ago at Plaza Athenee with my wife and our infant daughter while listening to Cole Porter. Great memories. Needs time to develop. I gave 2 hours but should be more. Massive tannins. This wine is still young. Blackberries and strawberries with loads of spice , just a hint of fruit sweetness and tar. I splurged and bought 3 cases in an auction. I wanted to try one bottle. I think I leave to cellar for another year.
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A more civilized style of Celestins, the wine is incredibly ripe, but not overripe. Round, soft, forward and concentrated, the fruit is clean, spicy, earthy and fresh. Interestingly, at this time, the wine is disarmingly easy to drink with just an hour or 2 of air.
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Bright fruit color, long legs glistening down the side of the glass. Gorgeous nose. A lot of tannin. Yes to drinking to soon but why not, I am 62 and this will last forever. It's a strong buy.
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After reading that Henri Bonneau had passed, we thought we should try one of his wines. The 2009 is drinking very well: deep mahagony red, with a wild nose of roast beef and Provençal herbs, ripe blackberries and tar. The wine is more drinkable than I expected, almost soft in the mouth, and the ripeness of the fruit is countered by enough acidity to provide lift and balance. A great bottle, by a great winemaker...
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Showing a close kindred with the 2009 casks destined for the Marie Beurrier, this barrel was even more stunning, and more voluptuously textured, with abundant but smooth tannins. Perfectly balanced. And what amazing flavour intensity and persistence! This was the most striking wine of the tasting, and every wine lover should pray that Bonneau lives to finish its élevage: he could hardly leave a more profound legacy than this wine, which it is hard to imagine being less than pure perfection when it is bottled.
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5/5/2024 - Vini Ciclismo wrote: 95 Points
Pure deep red and glossy.
Ripe plums and berries with a lovely crushed herb and spice bouquet.
Silky smooth texture, glides across the palate. Seems weightless, plenty of extremely fine tannins, very fine acidity, a long super smooth finish. Fleshy but not heavy, delicious ripe plum and cassis with a fine seam of dark tar spice. Drinking beautifully, aged ahead of it.
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6/1/2023 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
Dinner at avec River North (Chicago, IL): Bonneau has this magic about it -- it's unmistakably CdP but actually tastes good. Very ripe and almost porty in character, with lots of sweet black and red fruit. It's a very intense wine, and the alcohol is present, but at the end of the day, what's more compelling is how amazingly balanced it is. A stellar wine, but one that probably would be more rewarding to drink with at least another ten years in the cellar.
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12/25/2022 - jhbehrens Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wonderful but too young, keep for at least 5 more years
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12/10/2022 - OenoEd Likes this wine: 94 Points
Huge and ripe, dark purple near black. Decanted for half hour before pouring highly recommended , wine continues to bloom after 2 hours in the glass., showing more floral and ferrous notes . High alcohol is well carried, but for the bit of heat on the finish. Elegant , but still Too rich for a lightly seasoned steak tartare, but perfect with braised lamb neck and root veggies at Charleston. This presents as ripe, but not stewed, well structured with mostly integrated tannins, and peak now, with ten years of stability. What did it miss? Maybe just a hint of exotica, the sauvage and gamey blood and liquid rock found in less hot vintages here, where acidity is more available to harmonize with the intense ripe fruit.
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6/20/2022 - smctipton wrote: 97 Points
Seemingly light weight, but nevertheless complex classic CDP. All the expected elements are there...and so drinkable now.
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6/17/2022 - Montesquieu Likes this wine: 96 Points
Saved this to share with a friend whose favorite CdP is Bonneau Celestins. Decanted two hours before first taste. We all thought that it's firmly in its drinking window but perhaps five years from true peak. So will save my other bottle for another five.
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5/29/2022 - Yagil wrote: 95 Points
Deep Ruby
Pronounced aromas intensity of dark forest fruits, cherries, prunes, earth, leather, forest floor, mushrooms, tobacco, tea leaves, oak-vanilla
Developed
Dry, high acidity, high tannins, high abv, high complexity, long finish, Pronounced flavors intensity consistent with the aromas.
Outstanding wine.
Drink now, at peak, though can be aged further.
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1/27/2022 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
La Tablee: Bonneau retrospective (Mercerie): Interesting - apparently two of the hottest vintages on record are 2003 and 2009. Not sure that I realized that. Again a bit more of the black fruit style. Well structured. Lightly floral (nothing like what the '14 was). Drinks too young as all in this flight do, but a nice wine.
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1/12/2022 - joshabramson Likes this wine: 94 Points
Huge wine, very ripe and forward, slightly hot on the finish. Definitely needs some air, this is pure power and fruit right now. Still classy and very well made, but definitely not subtle. Reminded me of Sine Qua Non at first. Perhaps a few years of age will help this mellow out.
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12/3/2021 - d'Artagnan wrote: 93 Points
J'ai beaucoup aimé ce vin mais me suis rarement aussi planté sur un Châteauneuf....Je lui trouvais un magnifique nez de nebiolo (l'anis).
C’est soyeux, élégant, magnifiquement équilibré, avec un côté viril et plutôt austère/terreux (me confortant dans mon choix). J’étais persuadé d’avoir affaire à un grand Barolo. Un vin plus sérieux que voluptueux à ce stade, promis à un développement harmonieux. 93-94+ pts
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9/19/2021 - cooberp Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow. Hard to know whether to begin with the elegance—so lightweight, so fragrant, so polished—or the intensity and complexity of the flavors and smells: rich plum and blueberry, baking spices, earthy notes…like a rum-drenched dessert or Christmas fruitcake, except that instead of being cloying/syrupy it’s zingy and fresh and vibrant and balanced…like some of my favorite Bordeaux, drinking this transports me to a vision of snuggling up by a fire in a ski cabin in the middle of winter. The combination of the darkness and depth of the flavors and the airiness of the mouthfeel means it would pair well with almost everything. Barely any perceptible tannin, but the freshness suggests it still has a ways to age. 15% listed alcohol lends a sense of sweetness, but there’s no hint of any burning/turpentine-y sensation, as I often get with Chateauneuf or southern Spanish wines. Shame the great man passed, but I sure now get what all the fuss was about.
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9/3/2021 - Brian of Mull Likes this wine: 96 Points
Coming back to after a few years. Opened for 3 hours. Color is nice ruby. On the nose: Kirsch, Strawberry and hint of Provençal herbs. On the palate: Strawberry, kirsch, and lavender with Provençal herbs. Tannins still prominent on back end. It’s a great wine and built to last. I think will continue to improve with age. My next bottle will wait till winter when the meals will be a heartier match as it’s a big wine.
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3/3/2021 - The Vines That Bind wrote: 93 Points
[Blind] High toned, somewhat floral, and moderately expressive nose. Sweet red berry. Youthful and flashy. Aromatically sort of suggests young Right Bank Bordeaux but the palate is a little too soft given the youth. Texturally more like young Pinot? Some unresolved tannin. Elegant but has power. Developing a faint rusticity and earth influence. Palate delivers power and punch with softer edges. 93 - 94.
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10/28/2020 - LB88 wrote: 93 Points
Lovely wine balanced and approachable even though young but just not as expressive and giving at this stage. Has the structure and potential. The 07 has the edge tonight but the 09 maybe in 3-5 years.
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3/3/2019 - Brian of Mull Likes this wine: 96 Points
Dessert island wine. Had my first one in Paris 15 years ago at Plaza Athenee with my wife and our infant daughter while listening to Cole Porter. Great memories. Needs time to develop. I gave 2 hours but should be more. Massive tannins. This wine is still young. Blackberries and strawberries with loads of spice , just a hint of fruit sweetness and tar. I splurged and bought 3 cases in an auction. I wanted to try one bottle. I think I leave to cellar for another year.
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5/30/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 96 Points
A more civilized style of Celestins, the wine is incredibly ripe, but not overripe. Round, soft, forward and concentrated, the fruit is clean, spicy, earthy and fresh. Interestingly, at this time, the wine is disarmingly easy to drink with just an hour or 2 of air.
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9/8/2017 - jlgnml Likes this wine: 95 Points
Bright fruit color, long legs glistening down the side of the glass. Gorgeous nose. A lot of tannin. Yes to drinking to soon but why not, I am 62 and this will last forever. It's a strong buy.
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8/13/2016 - Claret & CdP Gang Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dark red, nutmeg, spices, complex aromas, very good nose, full bodied, rich, of course still young but was drinking well, long, delicious
95+
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3/27/2016 - KPB wrote: 96 Points
After reading that Henri Bonneau had passed, we thought we should try one of his wines. The 2009 is drinking very well: deep mahagony red, with a wild nose of roast beef and Provençal herbs, ripe blackberries and tar. The wine is more drinkable than I expected, almost soft in the mouth, and the ripeness of the fruit is countered by enough acidity to provide lift and balance. A great bottle, by a great winemaker...
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8/5/2013 - William Kelley Likes this wine: 96 Points
Showing a close kindred with the 2009 casks destined for the Marie Beurrier, this barrel was even more stunning, and more voluptuously textured, with abundant but smooth tannins. Perfectly balanced. And what amazing flavour intensity and persistence! This was the most striking wine of the tasting, and every wine lover should pray that Bonneau lives to finish its élevage: he could hardly leave a more profound legacy than this wine, which it is hard to imagine being less than pure perfection when it is bottled.
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