Henri Bonneau

When I asked Henri Bonneau about the ageworthiness of most modern-day Chateauneufs, he commented that "many wines today are bottled much younger than was the tradition when I was learning, with a lot more reduction than before." That gives a lot of primary "obvious" fruit, he said, which is good for people who like to drink their Chateauneuf when it's young. "But what about after the wine has been in bottle for a while? Will it have the texture of a wine that slowly took on oxygen during elevage, will it have as much complexity?" That led to talk about the tannic structure of wines that are rushed too quickly into bottle (which means pretty much every red wine in the world, measured by the Bonneau bottling regimen). He said that he likes to bottle and release his wines when he thinks that the fruit and tannins are in harmony, "but not so much that they have to be drunk immediately." As I noted last year, the wines here seem to have acquired more polish than in the past, but that's strictly relative as these are still among the most idiosyncratic wines made in France today. They've always had quirkiness and personality to burn, so long-time fans have no reason for alarm. JOSH RAYNOLDS

As I have said before, the wines that emerge from Henri Bonneau's 15+ acres of old vine Grenache planted on the famed sector called La Crau are majestic wines of extraordinary power, richness, and longevity.

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. ROBERT PARKER