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)