Provenance

The Coats Family Cellar is arguably the most prestigious fine wine collection ever offered in South Africa. It contains an expansive 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 refrigerated container. 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

As observed by wine writer Lisa Perrotti-Brown, a significant factor in its continuous appeal is its ageability.

The success of the Iconic Penfolds Grange's achievements and awards over the last 70 years stands as testament to its quality. Such as the 1955 Penfolds Grange, winner of over 50 Gold medals, and the 1971 Penfolds Grange, First Prize in the Shiraz Category at the Paris Wine Olympics. The 1990 vintage was named 'Wine Of The Year' by Wine Spectator magazine in 1995.

Special mentions:

• 30 'Winery of the Year' awards from Wine & Spirits Magazine. More than any other winery in the world.
• Perfect Scores: The flagship, Grange has received over 20 perfect scores from global wine critics. It is the only Australian wine to receive a perfect score from both Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate for the same vintage.
• 'Winemaker of the Year' from the International Wine Challenge in 1991, 2000.
• Top 100 Winery: Penfolds has been listed in Wine & Spirits Magazine's 'Top 100 Wineries' annual list for a record 28 times, making Penfolds the magazine's most awarded winery in the world.
• 'Most Admired Wine Brand' from Drinks International in 2016 and 2019.

What makes it so special:

• Ageability: It was Max Schubert's vision to craft a wine so exquisite in its taste and age-worthiness that it would compete with the oldest living Bordeaux and Burgundies of its time.
• Heritage and Expertise: Penfolds was founded in 1844 and has a rich winemaking heritage spanning over 175 years. With such a long history, the winery has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and expertise in crafting exceptional wines.
• Critic scores and awards: Except for Max Schubert's disastrously misunderstood first vintage, it has consistently won top scores.
• Exceptional vintages of Penfolds Grange in the NFT Lot: 1976 & 2008 - 100 Parker Points, exceptional vintages also 1986, 1990, 1991, 1998
• Since the 1990s the Grange remains in the Langton's top tier "Exceptional' category.
• The 1955 Penfolds Grange was named a 'Heritage Wine' by the Australian National Trust.
• The ambitious vintage 1971 won the category at the 1979 Wine Olympics and grabbed several medals across Australia.
• 1990 named the 'Wine of The Year' by Wine Spectator magazine in 1995.
• 1991 vintage -Duval was named Red Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine Challenge in London. 'One of the greatest vintages' - The Penfolds Vintage Journal.
• Quality, consistency and reliability of the recognisable 'Penfolds Grange' style.
• 1998 - 99 points from Parker and Wine Spectator.