Domaine Henri Bonneau 26 Rue de la Mairie,18300 Thauvenay, France

Henri Bonneau, a true legend of winemaking, is the 12th generation of the Bonneau family to produce wine in Chateauneuf. He had grown 6.5 hectares of vines spread among 13 different parcels throughout the appellation. Most notable plot is located in La Crau, arguably the finest terroir in this region, and Grand Pierre beside Rayas. Another vineyard located on the near Couthezon on a stonier soil managed by his son Marcel to produce Les Rouliers. Approximately, 90% are devoted to Grenache, but the vineyards consist of small numbers of Mourvedre, Syrah, Vaccarese, and Counoise. He believed that after 50 years, a vine is not the same, so he maintained the average age of vines between 30 to 40 years by choice. Henri is not a fan of extremely low yield per vine, and harvests as late as possible to receive fully ripen grapes. The berries are only destemmed in moderate or poor vintages, as they probably did not achieve the desired level of phenolic ripeness. Fermentation is carried out in concrete vats, and the wines are aged in very old oak barrels for a minimum two years. Both Chateauneuf du Pape and Cuvee Marie Beurrier are made from 90% Grenache and 10% Mourvedre as well as small portions of Syrah, Counoise, and Vaccarese.