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
Château Le Pin is situated on the Bordeaux Right-Bank in the appellation of Pomerol and is named for the single pine tree that grows near the winery. Considered one of the most sought-after and expensive wines in the world, Le Pin commands some of the most consistently high prices on auction worldwide, bolstered by equally high critic ratings. Made from 100% Merlot, the grapes are sourced from only 2.7 hectares of vineyard that surrounds the winery and only 600-700 cases of wine are produced annually.
The original single hectare property was established in the 1920’s and bought by Jacques Thienpont in 1979 for a million francs. The vineyards were further developed by Thienpont, whose family own the neighbouring Vieux Château Certan, and the wine was initially made in tiny quantities in a farmhouse basement. Today the wine is made in a state-of-the-art winery upgraded in 2011, but the quantities remain tiny, as the demand for this exquisite wine grows.
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 2005 Le Pin is a very pretty wine, perhaps a bit more floral and savory and less opulent than it often is. Crushed raspberry, wild flowers, mint and dried herbs all lift from the glass effortlessly. Like most of its peers, the 2005 needs several hours of aeration to be at its best. It is an especially gracious, translucent wine that stands apart stylistically from the typically richer wines that have been made here.’ - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 94/100 (Apr 2021)
‘This flirts with a light jammy edge, with raspberry and boysenberry confiture flavors, though the anise, bramble and graphite elements maintain freshness through the finish. A hair less caressing than '09 and '10, this has a slight clip at the end, a function of the drought that is Le Pin's Achilles' heel. Still a beauty in its way. Drink now through 2030. 550 cases made.’ - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, 94/100 (Dec 2015)
‘The Le Pin 2005 has a very sweet, candied bouquet that actually reminds me slightly of a Super-Tuscan, not in a bad way either. It is a complex set of aromas that bring to mind a burlesque: red cherries, soy, undergrowth, a sprig of heather and lavender. As usual it is one of the most opulent, lascivious Pomerols on the nose and returning to my glass over ten minutes it unfurls with careless abandon. The palate is medium-bodied with fine silky tannins. But it does not quite deliver the same sophistication on the second half that is quite linear, touches of coffee and marmalade with a hint of aniseed on the finish. This is a delicious, quite mercurial Le Pin that you could broach now, though I would prefer to leave it another three or four years.’ - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, 95/100 (Feb 2015)
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