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

‘Pale ruby. Such a different colour from most Brunellos of this era! Not much on the nose either when just opened or the next day. Light, fresh on the palate – a little burgundian but definitely crisp and savoury rather than sweet. A little build and grip on the finish but not nearly as impressive as the Vigna Intistieti 2000 was in 2006.’ – Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 16.5/20 (Dec 2015)

‘Soldera’s 2000 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva offers layers of sublime perfumed ripe fruit that blossom on the palate with great concentration, length, finesse and purity of expression. Deceptively medium-bodied, today it comes across as elegant and somewhat restrained but the structure is there and in time it is likely to put on weight and mature into a darker set of flavors. Soldera’s 2000 Brunello Riserva is a remarkable achievement for the vintage and will drink well for several decades. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2025.’ – Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate, 93/100 (Dec 2006)

‘ The 2000 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a delicate, aromatically nuanced wine. Sweet floral notes, dried cherry, and tobacco all lift from the glass. Today, the 2000 does not appear to have the structure of the very best years. If anything it comes across as a rare Soldera wine that will drink best over the medium-term.’ – Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 92/100 (Apr 2016)