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

‘The 1989 Clinet is the vintage that put this Pomerol estate on the map thanks to a perfect score from Robert Parker. While I have never encountered a perfect bottle myself, a magnum hinted that it was not beyond the realm of possibility. This bottle is one of the better examples. It features kirsch, cassis and crushed violets on the nose, like a Margaux with the dial turned up to eleven (and I mean that in a positive way). There is some VA here, but it merely gives kick to the aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with a rich, precocious entry and gorgeous sloe and brown sugar notes, very deep and rounded. A slightly volatile finish offers marvellous length. I suspect that to really experience the 1989 Clinet at its peak, you need to find perfectly cellared larger formats, although clearly bottles can be a thrill.’ - Neal Martin, Vinous, 95/100 (Sept 2019)

‘One of the great modern-day Bordeaux, the 1989 Clinet still has a saturated purple color and a sweet nose of creme de cassis intermixed with incense, licorice, smoke, and mineral. As the wine sits in the glass, more blueberry and blackberry notes emerge, intermixed with some toasty oak, earth, and spice. This spectacularly concentrated, full-bodied, multi-dimensional wine is the stuff of dreams. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025.’ - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, 100/100 (Jan 2003)