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 Lafleur reappears in Hong Kong but here it is (unfairly) juxtaposed against the mortal 1986 Lafleur. Maybe the 1982 is “immortal”? This bottle is firing on all cylinders - there is no stage fright here! Intense black fruit on the nose with stunning delineation, those light gravel scents more in the background than on the bottle shown at Ten Trinity. The palate just delivers everything you could wish for in a mature Pomerol. There is that perfect acidity, astonishing symmetrical structure, the energy and panache, the insistent grip towards the finish and the otherworldly long finish. The last five words of the note I jot down at the time in “As good as it gets”. Sums it up really.’ - Neal Martin, Vinous, 100/100 (Nov 2018)

‘The 1982 Lafleur, at least for my palate, while qualitatively no better than Mouton Rothschild, Latour, and La Mission Haut Brion, is off the charts in terms of the hedonistic and intellectual pleasure it gives me. I have only a few bottles remaining in my cellar, and this 1982 is still a young wine. The extraordinary intensity and purity of the kirsch liqueur and licorice, the remarkable opulence, the thickness and richness, yet the ability to seem fresh with laser-like precision are all things that must be tasted to be believed. This wine is showing a little bricking at the edge, but has off the chart concentration as well as a viscous texture and unreal purity and fruit. It is as close to some of the legendary 1947s that were produced in Pomerol as anything made in the last thirty years. This is a remarkable wine! Anticipated maturity: now-2030.’ - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, 100/100 (Jun 2009)