1995 Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Bonneau, who vinified his first vintage in 1956, takes the long view when assessing vintages. When I mentioned to him that I thought 1995 was a pretty good year for the appellation, he responded, "Yes, it's very good but it's not a vintage we'll be talking about in 30 years." On the other hand, Bonneau's young '98, from a superb vintage for the wines of the region, may indeed have a life span that long. "Classic grenache in surmaturite with a taste of the grape," is the way Bonneau describes his '98. Yields were just 25 hectoliters per hectare, about average for this domain. Today's plants tend to produce too much, notes Bonneau. "Today's pepinieristes (i.e, nurserymen who supply vines to grape growers) don't love wine; they drink water." x000D x000D x000D x000D Although Bonneau does not decide how he's going to label his various cuvees and vintages until the very last moment, he admitted to me that he has a pretty good idea how a given batch of fruit is going to turn out when he harvests the grapes. In recent months, Bonneau has released some '93 as well as some '92 Marie Beurrier and Reserve des Celestins (see notes on these wines in Issue 82); in November the '92 Marie Beurrier was showing very well while the more substantial, even riper, more port-like Celestins (15.2% alcohol) was far less forthcoming. Both of these '92s are superb for the vintage.

My annual odyssey through Henri Bonneau maze of cellars began with an early look at the 1998 vintage, which will surely be this Chateauneuf master's greatest year since 1990. The several '98 cuvees I tasted, none of which had finished fermenting their considerable sugars, showed the roasted, confectionery fruit and unctuous, liqueur-like texture that Bonneau and his devoted clients so admire. The black raspberry, kirsch and bitter chocolate notes displayed by the young '98s are unusually vibrant for a vintage that will eventually be bottled with off-the-charts alcohol levels, and the tannic clout of the vintage should see these wines through their long elevage. Although Bonneau often waits as long as five or six years to bottle his Chateauneuf, he noted that the wines are usually racked just once a year, in February and March. At any point in the process, wines not up to Bonneau's standards may be sold off to the negoces