Johannesburg Auction Week

Live Virtual Auction, 6 November 2022

Coats Family Cellar | Iconic Bordeaux
About the Session

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.


Sold for

ZAR 31 864
Lot 118
  • d'Yquem; Sauternes; 1967; 1 (1 x 1); 750ml


Lot Estimate
ZAR 25 000 - 30 000
Selling Price
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
ZAR 31 864

About this Item

1967 Sauternes
1 (1 x 1) 750ml

1967 Vintage Conditions: A vintage with fine weather - a beautiful dry hot summer and a very successful first pass from 26 September to 3 October, accompanied by a few scattered showers. Picking started up again on 9 October. Temperatures were high, including at night, which was conducive to perfect botrytis. The harvest ended on 26 October. The grapes were very ripe and extremely concentrated. The wine has a subtle balance and is a benchmark vintage for the 1960s and 70s. - Château d'Yquem Millésimes Report

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

'With the possible exception of the 1945 and 1928 Yquem, the 1967 is, by most people's reckoning, the benchmark Sauternes of the 20th century. This bottle more than lived up to that reputation. Deep gold in color, if offers up a dizzying array of scents ranging from singed orange peel, caramelized pear, apricot nectar, fig cake, honey, toffee and turbinado sugar, with flavors to follow. Its viscous texture completely envelopes the palate and the finish, if one can reasonably even call it a "finish", as the wine seems to go on forever. This hauntingly complex, powerful yet shockingly lively Sauternes could be served with all sorts of decadent desserts, but it really deserves to be appreciated by itself, especially since one never knows when another chance to experience it might come around.' - Josh Raynolds, Vinous, 99/100 (Jan 2021)

'Displaying a gorgeous deep amber-gold color, the 1967 d'Yquem slips sensuously out of the glass with a profound perfume of dried mandarin peel, allspice, praline, cinnamon toast and orange blossoms plus hints of gingerbread and accents of lemon butter. The palate is simply electric with citrus and spice-sparked energy, delivering youthfully vibrant notes with a tantalizing floral undercurrent. Superb freshness knit inseparably with the complex sweetness makes this seem like a deceptively delicate, lithe, medium-dry style, even if the truth is far richer yet with edifying persistence. For Sauternes lovers, a perfectly preserved bottle of this wine is undoubtedly the Holy Grail.' - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate, 99/100 (Aug 2019)

View all d'Yquem lots for sale in this auction