G.A.E.C. Bonneau & Fils

Réserve des Célestins Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhône Blend 2009

9.4

I remember having this wine for the first time in a restaurant outdoors under a tree for lunch in Gigondas with the family many years ago. It was a Wow wine. I have since collected a few bottles and decided to have this one over the weekend with Lamb Shanks. Nose not giving a lot initially but eventually a red and black fruited savoury perfume. Such concentration and richness on the full bodied palate featuring raspberry, plum and spice finishing with supple tannins in this predominantly Grenache blend. The previous bottle I had of this in Australia had notes of barnyard and manure (possibly traces of Brett) but no sign of that in this bottle. Always a treat to have a Bonneau Celestins. — 15 days ago

Serge, Doug and 13 others liked this

Doug Powers

@Bob McDonald, a brief comment since I don’t want to “criticize” anyone, I was “all-in” based on Parker’s comments in the late 1980s/early 1990s to lay in some Bonneau in my cellar (I mean, my email address, which I still use, has “mmrhone” as part of it). I visited an “important” San Francisco wine shop around that time, and was basically “advised” not to purchase Bonneau wines, which I REGRET to today. While I heard some “specifics” at the time as to why, with my PERFECT 20-50 hindsight (LOL!), I now realize I made a HUGE mistake. Oh well?!

Bob McDonald

@Doug Powers I hear you on some of the thoughts of Robert Parker. As far as Aussie wine was concerned back in the day he thought “the bigger the better”. Next thing every wine maker was chasing Parker Points with over ripe over Oaked monsters. This is why he didn’t like medium bodied classic Cabernets like Mount Mary. I reckon SA winemakers making these monsters set the Australian wine industry backwards for over a decade until it has now returned to making world class wines.