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 colour was extremely dark - almost black - but the nose was initially overwhelmingly volatile at first and the palate disconcertingly high in acidity. Amazingly, some fruit was eventually revealed, but this was virtually impossible to guess blind. It deserves praise as a relic rather than a delicious drink.' - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 18/20 (Mar 2011)

'Phenomenal quality. Like pure silk. Aromas of tobacco, cigar box, leather and wet earth. It's full-bodied, with fine tannins and a long finish. Aftertaste goes on for minutes.--Latour vertical.' - Wine Spectator, 100/100 (Aug 2000)

'A revelation at the very least, the 1863 Latour possesses a dark garnet color as well as a terrific nose of ginger, allspice, smoke, mint, cedar, and briny fruit. As this medium-bodied wine sat in the glass, acidity began to push its way through the fragile aromatics and fruit flavors, revealing elements of singed leather. The wine is alive, with an impressive bouquet and a surprising amount of fruit and depth - a testament to the extraordinary longevity of some Bordeaux vintages. Amazingly, after a half-hour of airing, the wine seemed to stabilize in the glass!' - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, 90/100 (Jun 2000)