Provenance

The Coats Family Cellar is arguably the most prestigious fine wine collection ever offered in South Africa. It contains a deep collection of the worlds finest, most sought-after wines, spanning over 150 years. Collected over many decades, the cellar was imported from Ireland to South Africa via reefer. Each bottle within the Coats Family Cellar was authenticated by Michael Egan in August 2022 and given an ID number for tracking.

Michael Egan is a world-expert in fine and rare wines with more than thirty five years of experience. He was the principal expert for the plaintiff in the two major wine counterfeiting trials in Koch v. Eric Greenberg and United States v. Rudy Kurniawan, both of which occurred in 2013.

Along with Michael Egan, the Strauss & Co Fine Wine team have tasted extensively through the cellar and are confident of the wine storage and hence quality. The entire collection is currently stored at Wine Cellar.

Critics Ratings

‘Magnum: My scribbling was enthusiastic: "atomic bottle, better than the '68. It's still young and lively; it has fruit and a juicy texture. Perfect tannins!" It was produced with 70% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot and Malbec bottled at a moderate 13% alcohol. The wine feels very young, partly because it was a great vintage but also because the wine stayed for at least five years in large oak vats, where the wine evolves at a very slow pace, then it spent no less than 10 years in barrels, used and quite neutral, where the evolution was also slow…’ - Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate, 100/100 (Jan 2023)

‘For many years, the 1970 Unico was the greatest Spanish wine that I had ever tasted, and although this was not the same caliber as the previous perfect example, it remains a fabulous wine. It is a blend of 70% Tinto Fino, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot and Malbec and aged for ten years in barriques. It has a thrilling Bordeaux-like personality on the nose that is more aloof than other vintages. The Cabernet component in the blend is pronounced, forming the backbone and austerity of this wine. However, you cannot deny its power and its breeding, or indeed its obdurate, masculine finish that demands respect. This is a Unico you have to look up to, perhaps the sister of Chateau Latour in this same year. 94,500 bottles produced. Drink now-2030+.’ - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, 97/100 (Aug 2012)

‘Transparent pale crimson. Heady nose with some real impact still. Sweet liquorice and real fruit intensity. Quite amazing spicy fruit cocktail with just the right amount of tannin (not too much, cf bordeaux) for a wine over 50 years old. Odd that we don’t have a previous note on this vintage in the database… VERY impressive.’ - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 19.5 (Sep 2022)