The Reserve des Celestins is tannic but revealing more meat, concentration, depth, plenty of plum, herb, pepper, and raspberry and kirsch fruit. I didn’t think the wines were nearly as strong as last year, and even Henri Bonneau commented that he thought the vintage could prove troublesome given the level of harsh tannins. It is always difficult to figure out just what is going on here. For over 15 years, my annual tasting through the hodgepodge of cellars and ancient barrels, foudres, and tanks in this underground maze known as the caves of Henri Bonneau is one of the gustatory highlights of the year. Yet the only thing that seems certain is that whatever comes out in bottle is usually much better than what you taste out of barrel. Henri Bonneau, who is now working in close conjunction with a new collaborator, Michel Roman, to help in doing some of the work in the cellar as he edges into his late sixties, called 2004 a “correct year.”Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173

The Reserve des Celestins is tannic but revealing more meat, concentration, depth, plenty of plum, herb, pepper, and raspberry and kirsch fruit. I didn’t think the wines were nearly as strong as last year, and even Henri Bonneau commented that he thought the vintage could prove troublesome given the level of harsh tannins. It is always difficult to figure out just what is going on here. For over 15 years, my annual tasting through the hodgepodge of cellars and ancient barrels, foudres, and tanks in this underground maze known as the caves of Henri Bonneau is one of the gustatory highlights of the year. Yet the only thing that seems certain is that whatever comes out in bottle is usually much better than what you taste out of barrel. Henri Bonneau, who is now working in close conjunction with a new collaborator, Michel Roman, to help in doing some of the work in the cellar as he edges into his late sixties, called 2004 a “correct year.” Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173