Henri Bonneau released the 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins (one of the finest wines of the vintage) in 2004. Although slightly austere and closed at present, it offers a wonderful bouquet of smoked meats, ground pepper, sweet kirsch, currants, blood, herbs, and God knows what else. Rich and medium to full-bodied, but tannic and closed, it requires 3-4 years of cellaring, and should drink well for two decades. One of the controversies surrounding Henri Bonneau is what happened to those cuvees that were supposed to go into the Cuvee Marie Beurrier in 1998. Bonneau has maintained over the last several years that everything was so spectacular in 1998 that there would be no Marie Beurrier. But, he did bottle a tiny quantity prior to the harvest in 2004 to satisfy one of his European customers. However, I do not believe any of that wine will be allocated to America (unless it comes through the grey market) since so little was made, and the quality was so high in 1998 that all of the cuvees that fermented dry will be designated as Reserve des Celestins. That said, one never is quite sure what Henri Bonneau intends to do until the wine is in bottle. Readers should be prepared for just about anything.Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173

A brilliant effort that will undoubtedly be released in 2004 (one never knows with Monsieur Bonneau) is the 1999 Chateauneuf du Pape Reserve des Celestins. Bonneau is high on this vintage in contrast to his dismissal of the 2000 vintage, which he says is, "like a beautiful girl that's too sexually active at age 15, and too old at age 30." Last year he called the 2000 vintage "a nice whore." The 1999 is a more classic year, with firmer tannin, better acidity, and not the easy "facile" style that Bonneau deplores. The 1999 Reserve des Celestins exhibits a dense plum/garnet color as well as a sumptuously sweet bouquet of roasted meats, liqueur of cherries, soy, Asian spices, licorice, and garrigue. It is a full-bodied wine with great freshness, concentrated fruit, and a long, 45-second finish. Like 1988, initially it will be under appreciated, but will blossom into something special. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025. Always one of the most remarkable visits, my annual pilgrimage to the top of the village of Chateauneuf du Pape for the descent into the ancient cellars of Henri Bonneau is always a challenge. First of all, the wines are spectacular, but getting Bonneau to deliver a serious response to a question is never easy. Nevertheless, he has a wicked sense of humor, and with his Provencal twang, he is not the easiest to understand, particularly when his jibes are aimed at the French bureaucracy.Bonneau was in rare form when I saw him. He was thrilled with his 2001s, 2000s, 1999s, and 1998s (as was just about everybody else in Chateauneuf du Pape). He was philosophical about the rain storms that flooded the region on September 8 and 9, 2002, saying that fate had already been kind to Chateauneuf du Pape with four great vintages in a row.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. At the end of our tasting, Bonneau pulled out one of his legendary old vintages, the 1955 Reserve des Celestins, and once again, I simply wrote "100 ... it doesn't get any better than this." The only question is when will Bonneau decide to bottle his wines? Everything done at chez Bonneau makes no sense to modern day oenologists. His cellars are deplorable, and the condition of his barrels (at least the outside of them) is frightful. However, it's what's inside that counts. The magic in those barrels represents the essence, the heart and soul of Chateauneuf du Pape. (Not yet released)Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173