1998 Henri Bonneau, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Reserve Celestins

Drunk with the Bonneau family after the visit, the 1998 Châteauneuf du Pape Reserve des Célestins is a heavenly elixir that’s one of the most impressive wines in the vintage. In addition, it was so young and powerful, it was hard to believe it was 18 years old. Deep ruby color, with to die for notes of kirsch, currants, beef blood, roasted herbs and crushed rocks, this incredible wine hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a powerful, structured mid-palate and a finish that leaves you begging for another sip. It was a fitting end to a terrific visit.

Deep, dark red. Intensely aromatic nose explodes with dark berry liqueur, grilled and smoked meat, roasted coffee and floral oils; builds and expands endlessly. Unctuous in texture, in fact almost oily, with utterly compelling, sweet blackberry, dark chocolate and charred meat flavors that saturate every millimeter of the palate. Ridiculously long and rich through the finish, which seems to have no tannins. But they are in there, Bonneau assures me.)

The glorious 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins has finally finished its alcoholic fermentation, tipping the scales at a whopping 16%, much like the surreal 1990 Reserve des Celestins. The deep ruby/purple-colored 1998 exhibits a glorious nose of brandy-macerated black cherries, aged beef, smoke, licorice, pepper, lavender, and sweet figs. Enormous in the mouth, yet remarkably light on its feet, its unctuous texture oozes fruit, glycerin, and extract. There is not a hard edge in this silky-textured, voluminous, majestic Chateauneuf du Pape, the likes of which seem to be incapable of being duplicated anywhere else in this appellation, or the world. This is a singular wine of great intensity and power with multiple dimensions. Liquid Viagra meets Rabelais! Anticipated maturity: 2008-2035. Always one of the most remarkable visits, my annual pilgrimage to the top of the village of Chateauneuf du Pape for the descent into the ancient cellars of Henri Bonneau is always a challenge. First of all, the wines are spectacular, but getting Bonneau to deliver a serious response to a question is never easy. Nevertheless, he has a wicked sense of humor, and with his Provencal twang, he is not the easiest to understand, particularly when his jibes are aimed at the French bureaucracy. Bonneau was in rare form when I saw him. He was thrilled with his 2001s, 2000s, 1999s, and 1998s (as was just about everybody else in Chateauneuf du Pape). He was philosophical about the rain storms that flooded the region on September 8 and 9, 2002, saying that fate had already been kind to Chateauneuf du Pape with four great vintages in a row. As I have said before, the wines that emerge from Henri Bonneau's 15+ acres of old vine Grenache planted on the famed sector called La Crau are majestic wines of extraordinary power, richness, and longevity. At the end of our tasting, Bonneau pulled out one of his legendary old vintages, the 1955 Reserve des Celestins, and once again, I simply wrote "100 ... it doesn't get any better than this." The only question is when will Bonneau decide to bottle his wines? Everything done at chez Bonneau makes no sense to modern day oenologists. His cellars are deplorable, and the condition of his barrels (at least the outside of them) is frightful. However, it's what's inside that counts. The magic in those barrels represents the essence, the heart and soul of Chateauneuf du Pape. (Not yet released) Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 29/06/2010 This wine is reminiscent of Roger Sabon’s Le Secret des Sabon, with a style that borders on Italian Amarone. Powerful, full-bodied, alcoholic flavors, redolent with truffle, meat juices, roasted herbs, tar, sweaty saddle leather, plum, and soy, are incredibly complex but also provocative, and no doubt controversial. In the mouth, the wine is fleshy, full-bodied, thick, and juicy, pushing the level of ripeness to the limit. A distinctive and singular effort, as all Henri Bonneau’s wines are, this wine is silky and velvety, but should continue to drink well for another 25-30 years. The entire production of Reserve des Celestins was bottled in late 2004. I thought it needed to be bottled in 2002! To quote Henri Bonneau, "Ca c'est la confiture", meaning this is pure Chateauneuf du Pape jam, the essence of an appellation and his winemaking philosophy. Tipping the scales at 16% natural alcohol, it is a dead ringer for a modern day version of the immortal 1990 Celestins. This is a wine of great intensity, and Bonneau's decision to hold it an extra year in barrel seems to have concentrated it even more than I thought possible. This profound beverage is worth doing just about anything legal, and possible even illegal, to secure a bottle or two. It possesses a deep plum/ruby colour as well as a gorgeously sweet nose of blackberry and back cherry liqueur; grilled aged beef, smoke, melted licorice; ground pepper; and sweet, overripe figs. Massive in the mouth, with an unctous texture that oozes glycerin and extract, yet is also silky and surprisingly well balanced, this is a decadent, extravagantly rich, old-style Chateauneuf du Pape that is as good as it gets. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2030+ (100)

(Bonneau made a point of saving his '98s for the end of the tasting) Deep red-ruby. Knockout nose combines red fruit liqueur, plum, fig, minerals and graphite. Lush, thick and freakishly deep; this has fruit of steel. Like a liqueur in the mouth, hardly surprising in light of the wine's 16% alcohol. Finishes with palate-saturating persistence, with the wine's substantial tannins buried in fruit. This will be a monument.