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

Jaboulet's Hermitage La Chapelle 1961, 1978 and 1990 are considered to be among the greatest wines ever made in the Rhône Valley. The 1990 was sourced from Les Bessards, Le Méal and Les Rocoules, with the vines at the time between 40 and 60 years old. The grapes were hand-harvested, destemmed and macerated for three to four weeks, then matured in barrel for 15-18 months, 20% new wood. It's still amazingly dark in colour, with an immediately intense, savoury expression on the nose reminiscent of beef stock. Dried roses and roasted beef bones come through on the medium- to full-bodied palate, but there's also still fruit, not yet dried out at all. There's a touch of mint on the finish and a prickle of furry tannins. This still has a good sense of density and drive - an extraordinary wine with a reputation that's fully deserved.’ - Matt Walls, Decanter.com, 100/100 (Jun 2019)

‘Very dark blackish ruby. Masses of fine sediment. Meaty and pungent on the nose. Proper Hermitage!  Sweet palate entry and lots of evolution into a sweet leathery tarmacadam whole with real grip still.  No hurry to drink.’ - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 18/20 (Apr 2017)

‘The 1990 Hermitage La Chapelle lived up to its reputation on this occasion, and of the three titans (1990, 1978 and 1961), it was probably my favorite. Still inky colored and ruby at the rim, it offers an absolutely profound bouquet of sweet cassis, smoked meats, chocolate, licorice and spice. This is followed by a full-bodied, insanely textured, pure and hedonistic palate that has that perfect mix of still-vibrant fruit and ample secondary nuances. I suspect the '61 was even richer at this stage, but the overall purity and freshness here are incredible. It will continue to evolve for decades, but I'd happily open bottles today.’ - Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate, 100/100 (Sept 2015)