Henri Bonneau

Henri Bonneau (1938-2016) was descended from a long line of grocers and viticulteurs. He credited his winemaking knowledge to his father and grandfather. He had been making wine since 1956, and he vinified the 2015 vintage. Wine Spectator called him the dean of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

• Life span 1938-2016
• Making wine since 1956
• Vinified the 2015 vintage
• Isabel Ferrando, who founded Domaine St.-Préfert in late 2002, considers Bonneau a mentor; he offered her cuttings from his vineyards to replant dead vines

The domaine's holdings form a small patchwork totaling about 15 acres. The largest sits on the stony La Crau lieu-dit, with another in Grand Pierre, neighboring a vineyard of Château Rayas. Low yields and late harvesting were among the certainties of Bonneau's approach.

• About 15 acres in total
• Largest holding: the stony La Crau lieu-dit
• Another holding in Grand Pierre, neighboring a Château Rayas vineyard
• Low yields and late harvesting

Only red wine is produced. The grapes are rarely destemmed; the parcels are separated, but varieties are blended, fermented in vat and then moved to a hodgepodge of foudres and barrels for the élevage. The wines often spend several years in their aging vessels before bottling. "No micro-oxygenation, no tricks," Bonneau said. Isabel Ferrando recalled just one rémontage, and that "He had some barrels that took six or eight years to finish".

• Only red wine is produced
• Grapes rarely destemmed; varieties blended and fermented in vat
• Élevage in foudres and barrels, often for several years before bottling
• One rémontage

The bottlings were selected in the cellar rather than the vineyard, and they became a harbinger of the small-production cuvées that have since become de rigueur for many Châteauneuf-du-Pape producers. In most vintages there are three: the Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the Cuvée Marie Beurrier and the Réserve des Célestins, the grand vin. The Marie Beurrier cuvée was named after an aunt of Bonneau's wife Jacqueline from Charolles. A fourth wine, the Cuvée Spéciale, was made in 1990 and 1998 from extremely ripe Grenache; the 1998 carries 17 percent alcohol and a few grams of residual sugar.

• Châteauneuf-du-Pape: the normal bottling, which Bonneau deemed "good"
• Cuvée Marie Beurrier: named after an aunt of Bonneau's wife Jacqueline; "very good" in Bonneau's own ranking
• Réserve des Célestins: the grand vin; Wine Spectator rated the 1999 at 96 points
• Cuvée Spéciale: made in 1990 and 1998; Wine Spectator rated the 1998 at 98 points

Wine Spectator described the wines as full-throttle in richness and depth, with notes of garrigue, tobacco and roasted chestnut and a remarkably silky, integrated feel that lengthened and became more refined with age; its 2006 report named garrigue, iron and beef as classic Bonneau notes. Decanter's John Livingstone-Learmonth called Bonneau "an absolutely master blender" and wrote that the Réserve des Célestins could be spectacular in cool rather than heated vintages, calling the 2005 "a real beauty". The wines were rare and difficult to obtain in the United States.

• Garrigue, tobacco and roasted chestnut, with a silky, integrated feel, in Wine Spectator's description
• Classic notes of garrigue, iron and beef, in Wine Spectator's 2006 report
• Réserve des Célestins could be spectacular in cool vintages, in Decanter's view
• Rare and difficult to obtain in the United States

Primary sources (producer's own site): none; no producer website was found, so this article rests on independent press. Secondary sources: https://www.winespectator.com/articles/henri-bonneau-dean-of-chateauneuf-du-pape-dies-at-77-52896, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/a-visit-to-henri-bonneau-3021, https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/obituary-henri-bonneau-of-chateauneuf-du-pape-296609/. Last verified 2026-10-12.