Johannesburg Auction Week
Live Virtual Auction, 6 November 2022
Coats Family Cellar | Iconic Bordeaux
About the SessionThe 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.
About this Item
This leading Bordeaux château dates back to the fourteenth century. The estate is located at the southern edge of Pauillac, bordering the Saint-Julien vineyards of Château Léoville-Las Cases. It was purchased in 1993 by the French industrialist François Pinault, whose empire has grown to include Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, and Christie’s Auction House. Under the presidency of Frédéric Engerer, a major program of investment has taken place, leading Château Latour to rise to an undisputed pre-eminent position in the Bordeaux wine hierarchy. Rated as a First Growth in the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, which is a testament to its esteemed status in the wine world, Château Latour has become one of the most sought-after and expensive wine producers on the planet. It produces powerfully structured Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant wines capable of lasting many decades.
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 1982 Latour is the most consistent of the First Growths in this auspicious vintage. Tasted from both bottle and magnum in the UK in recent months, this note comes from an ex-château magnum tasted at a dinner in Bordeaux. It exudes class and majesty on the nose with its copious but brilliantly focused black fruit laced with cedar and graphite. To use a phrase I have written before, it is blue-blooded…..regal. That comes through on a palate that has a haunting symmetry and a killer finish that is brilliantly defined and audaciously long, graphite lingering on the aftertaste. Quite simply, does not come better than this. Drinking window - 2022 to 2055.’ - Neal Martin, Vinous, 1000/100 (Sept 2022)
‘Absolutely stonking. Beautifully layered, complex, fully mature nose. On the palate there was more sweetness than one usually associates with Ch Latour – a vintage factor presumably – and then a light tarry character towards the end of the palate that resonates with top-quality Pauillac and Latour's usual mineral signature. Just gorgeous and complete, at the height of its powers.’ - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 19.5/20 (Sept 2020)
‘1982 was a great vintage—relatively warm and prolific, producing wines of richness and depth. The 1982 Latour has a medium garnet-brick color and then pow!—it belts out powerful notes of star anise, dried roses, sandalwood and new leather with a core of kirsch, blackberry tart, dried mulberries and blackcurrant pastilles. Full-bodied, rich and spicy with bags of fruit and tons of savory fireworks, it finishes with epic persistence.’ - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate, 100/100 (Feb 2019)
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