Two other bottled wines include the 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Marie Beurrier, which exhibits scents of balsam wood, spice box, new saddle leather, Christmas fruitcake, kirsch and pepper. Medium to full-bodied, rich and soft, it is ideal for drinking over the next decade. Visiting with Henri Bonneau at his subterranean wine cellar, which could easily double as a bat cave, is always one of the highlights of a year of wine tasting. This property began estate bottling in 1927, with Bonneau’s father, but can trace its history back hundreds of years. Of course, since the death of Jacques Reynaud of Rayas in 1997, Henri remains the patron saint of all things “ancien” in Chateauneuf du Pape. He is revered like no other producer in the village, and while getting an appointment is never easy, once he is familiar enough with someone, he is nothing less than a hoot and a howl to talk to and to taste with. As Harry Karis points out in his absolutely magnificent book on Chateauneuf du Pape, The Chateauneuf du Pape Wine Book, Bonneau’s favorite subjects are gastronomy, the Algerian War, and a third one that Harry didn’t mention, young women. Speaking with a Provencal twang, it’s not always easy to understand exactly what he’s saying, but his animated face and extraordinary passion for these subjects, as well as his own wines, are always a treat. Everything about Bonneau’s estate goes against modernism. The cellars are filthy, and the barrels range in age from 10 years old to probably over a century. He has a relatively small estate of just under 17 acres, and he doesn’t really bottle anything for at least five years. His most recent bottlings include the 2004 Cuvee Marie Beurrier and Reserve des Celestins and the 2005 Reserve des Celestins, which won’t be released until next year. Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173

The 2004 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Marie Beurrier exhibits abundant aromas of roasted herbs, beef bouillon, kirsch, plum, and soy, a spicy character, and some disjointed, still firm tannins in the finish. The 2004s should be bottled early in 2010 Any cuvee with the capital letter G is destined to be a Marie Beurrier, and the cuvee P’s will end up being Reserve des Celestins. I doubt there will be a Reserve des Celestins in 2008, but I did taste two different cuvees, both just short of being outstanding.Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173