2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Réserve des Célestins, Henri Bonneau, Rhône

2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Réserve des Célestins, Henri Bonneau, Rhône

Product: 20118107130
Prices start from £3,200.00 per case Buying options
2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Réserve des Célestins, Henri Bonneau, Rhône

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Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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12 x 75cl bottle
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Description

Deep ruby. Potent aromas of cassis, blueberry, fruitcake, violet and smoky minerals. Impressively deep, seamless and broad, offering black and blue fruit flavors accented by espresso, cola, star anise and cracked pepper. For all its power and richness this wild wine comes across as almost feminine, showing impressive lift and focus thanks to bright, juicy acidity. The deep, sappy blackcurrant and blueberry flavors come back strong on the long, spicy finish.

Josh Raynolds, Vinous (Jan 2014)

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Critics reviews

Jasper Morris MW93-95/100
Deep ruby. Potent aromas of cassis, blueberry, fruitcake, violet and smoky minerals. Impressively deep, seamless and broad, offering black and blue fruit flavors accented by espresso, cola, star anise and cracked pepper. For all its power and richness this wild wine comes across as almost feminine, showing impressive lift and focus thanks to bright, juicy acidity. The deep, sappy blackcurrant and blueberry flavors come back strong on the long, spicy finish.

Josh Raynolds, Vinous (Jan 2014) Read more
Jeb Dunnuck92-94/100
Lastly, the 2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve des Célestins will be bottled probably sometime next year, but you can never be too sure. It’s a classic 2011 that’s put-on weight since I tasted it last year and offers terrific notes of lavender, garrigue, kirsch, fruit cake and pepper. Full-bodied, opulent and incredibly sexy on the palate, with a similar, yet even more open, style than the 12, it’s a wine that’s going to drink nicely right out of the gate yet also evolve beautifully. This iconic estate is no doubt in a transitional phase following the loss of Henri Bonneau in 2016. The young Marcel Bonneau is now at the helm and is receiving help from both Daniel Combin on the business side and Régis Charmasson in the vineyards and cave. The 2016 will be Marcel’s first vintage on his own, and the barrel samples are certainly promising.

Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com (Oct 2017) Read more

About this WINE

Domaine Henri Bonneau

Domaine Henri Bonneau

Henri Bonneau is one of the true legends of Châteauneuf du Pape. He is the 12th generation of Bonneaus to produce wine in Châteauneuf and is now aided in the cellars by his son, Marcel. Henri has 6 hectares of vineyards, split between 5.25ha in La Crau (arguably Châteauneuf's finest terroir) and 0.75ha on stonier soil near Couthézon in the north east of the appellation.

His wines are produced predominantly from Grenache (80-90%) with small quantities of Mourvèdre, Counoise and Vaccarèse. Henri harvests as late as possible, a policy that usually produces superripe fruit although sometimes he does gets caught out by October rains. Yields are kept low and vinfication and elevage are traditional with the use of wooden foudres and smaller oak barrels. Typically the wine are aged in oak for 3-4 years before being bottled unfiltered. His top cuvée, Réserve des Celestins displays intensely concentrated black fruit and is without question one of the finest of all Châteauneufs.

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Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

The most celebrated village of the Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the birthplace of the now indispensable French Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée system – imperfect though it may be. Compared to the Northern Rhône, the vineyards here are relatively flat and often feature the iconic galet pebbles – the precise benefits of which are a source of much debate. Minimum alcohol levels required by the AOC are the highest in France, but at 12.5% it is well below the natural generosity of Grenache, which only achieves its full aromatic potential when it is fully ripe and laden with the resultant high sugars. Syrah and Mourvèdre contribute the other defining elements in the blend, adding pepper, savoury spice and structure to the decadent Grenache. There are a further 10 permitted red grape varieties which can be used to adjust the “seasoning”. Of the five white varieties permitted, it is Grenache Noir’s sibling – predictably perhaps – Grenache Blanc, which dominates, though Roussanne shows a great deal of promise when handled well, notably at Château de Beaucastel.

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Southern Rhône Blend

Southern Rhône Blend

The vast majority of wines from the Southern Rhône are blends. There are 5 main black varieties, although others are used and the most famous wine of the region, Châteauneuf du Pape, can be made from as many as 13 different varieties. Grenache is the most important grape in the southern Rhône - it contributes alcohol, warmth and gentle juicy fruit and is an ideal base wine in the blend. Plantings of Syrah in the southern Rhône have risen dramatically in the last decade and it is an increasingly important component in blends. It rarely attains the heights that it does in the North but adds colour, backbone, tannins and soft ripe fruit to the blend.

The much-maligned Carignan has been on the retreat recently but is still included in many blends - the best old vines can add colour, body and spicy fruits. Cinsault is also backtracking but, if yields are restricted, can produce moderately well-coloured wines adding pleasant-light fruit to red and rosé blends. Finally, Mourvèdre, a grape from Bandol on the Mediterranean coast, has recently become an increasingly significant component of Southern Rhône blends - it often struggles to ripen fully but can add acidity, ripe spicy berry fruits and hints of tobacco to blends.

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