Bonneau was not sure about some of the cuvees we tasted for the potential 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Marie Beurrier offering, but I felt they merited 90-93 points. They are rich, full-bodied, supple-textured, showy wines, and, for my taste, are seemingly ready for bottling. However, I have frequently been wrong in my estimations, and may well be so with the 2000. 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

The two wines that were recently released include the 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Marie Beurrier, a sexy, supple style of wine that shows plenty of sweet currant fruit, hints of figs and plums, a medium garnet color with considerable amber at the edge, and aromas of soy as well as almost an Italian Amarone, with meaty creosote, tar, and richness. This wine is very seductive. Bonneau continues to criticize it as being altogether too charming at such a young age. It can be drunk now or cellared for up to a decade. The irrepressible Henri Bonneau is still in control, but seems to be slowly inching his way into a quasi-retirement with his new collaborator, Michel Roman, working hand-in-hand with him in the cellar assisted by Henri’s son Marcel. Tasting here is always a lesson in classic, traditionally made Chateauneuf du Pape that appears to be produced the way wines were several hundred or so years ago. Few producers take the risk of aging their Chateauneuf du Papes as long as Bonneau does, especially in cellars that would make a modern-day oenologist seek psychiatric help.Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173