Full ruby. Complex aromas of dried red fruits and herbs, heightened by a licorice note and a hint of cracked pepper. A sweet, palate-caressing wine for Bonneau, offering sweet raspberry and cherry flavors and a supple texture. Open-knit and easy to drink now, this wine shows none of the warm, liqueur-like qualities that mark so many wines from the vintage. Finishes with very good clarity and spicy persistence. I have been overestimating this wine, it seems.

In 2003, there will only be a Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Marie Beurrier. This cuvee has gotten better year by year. It was overly dry, hard, and austere in its youth, but it has filled out nicely, and his incredibly long elevage in old small barrels appears to have concentrated the wines in a way that only Bonneau can achieve, and neither Bonneau nor any modern oenologist can offer an idea as to why these wines turn out so remarkably given the cellar conditions. There are so many unidentified mushroom-like growths sprouting from the walls and, occasionally, on the outside of the barrels. Thank God for such mysteries! Henri Bonneau recently celebrated his 50th vintage of Chateauneuf du Pape, and no one can argue that he is the appellation’s greatest guardian of traditional winemaking. How does one describe an Henri Bonneau Chateauneuf du Pape? Perhaps the best description is that it represents a liquified charcoal-grilled steak heavily crusted on the outside, blood red on the inside, sprinkled with Provencal herbs, and doused in black pepper. Bonneau does not decide on what will go into his first wine, the Reserve des Celestins, or the second wine, Cuvee Marie Beurrier, until a year before the wines are bottled.. As I have indicated, all of the wines listed above are “potential” cuvees, with the exception of the 2003 Marie Beurrier. (No 2003 Reserve de Celestins was produced.) Tasting through the 2007s, Henri Bonneau’s first comments were, “it tastes too good too soon.” He said the same thing about the 2000s, and I argued with him, largely in vain, about that vintage’s greatness. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173

The 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Marie Beurrier, from a troublesome and challenging vintage for Henri Bonneau, is a lightweight, medium-bodied effort displaying attractive fig, underbrush and loamy soil notes and a moderate finish. It’s a competent but hardly inspiring wine from the inimitable Monsieur Bonneau.

Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #191, Oct 2010)

Magnum. An extraordinary wine – that tastes stronger than the 14.5% advertised on the label (and felt it the next morning). So sweet and concentrated. It benefited from being decanted. There was lots of spiciness and some herbs – thyme? – but also, rather amazingly, a smell of black olives. Truly Provençal! No signs of raisined fruit nor any of the heatwave vintage's faults. A treat. (JR)