The 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Marie Beurrier offers wonderful meaty, roasted herb, resiny, pine forest, and balsam wood scents intermixed with notions of fresh mushrooms, pepper, lavender, and plenty of beef blood characteristics. Opulent, fleshy, and soft, with some tannin in the background, this is a sensational vintage that should drink beautifully for 15 or more years. I can’t say enough about the great Henri Bonneau, who seems to be a bigger-than-life character in the spiritual rather than physical sense, and who is an inspiration for every young producer in the Rhone Valley. It is a privilege to taste there, and I am thrilled with how well the tastings went this year.Importer: Alain Junguenet, Wines of France, Mountainside, NJ; tel. (908) 654-6173

The 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Marie Beurrier tasted peppery, herbal, and spicy, and is clearly a wine made from a cooler year. 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