2003 Domaine Henri Bonneau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Marie Beurrier

Full ruby. Complex aromas of dried red fruits and herbs, heightened by a licorice note and a hint of cracked pepper. A sweet, palate-caressing wine for Bonneau, offering sweet raspberry and cherry flavors and a supple texture. Open-knit and easy to drink now, this wine shows none of the warm, liqueur-like qualities that mark so many wines from the vintage. Finishes with very good clarity and spicy persistence. I have been overestimating this wine, it seems.

Author: Josh Raynolds

Issue: March/April 2011

Shows the roasted, slightly burly edge of the vintage, but the grilled chestnut, dark bittersweet cocoa, maduro tobacco, licorice root and black currant paste notes are still defined and distinctive, delivering iron and roasted apple wood notes that pound through the long, tannic finish. A gloriously old-school style.

Author: James Molesworth

The 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Marie Beurrier, from a troublesome and challenging vintage for Henri Bonneau, is a lightweight, medium-bodied effort displaying attractive fig, underbrush and loamy soil notes and a moderate finish. It's a competent but hardly inspiring wine from the inimitable Monsieur Bonneau.

Author: Robert Parker