Critics Ratings

‘One of the more finesse driven wines in the vertical, the 1985 Hermitage la Chapelle offered beautiful, complex notes of coffee beans, dried meats, potpourri and mint to go with a full-bodied, elegant and seamless feel on the palate. Following on the heels of the monster-sized '89, it still stood out for its purity, fine tannin and length on the finish. It's a beautiful wine drinking at point. Drinking date: 2015 - 2025.’ - Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate, 95/100 (Sept 2015)

‘A pleasant, expressive Hermitage, showing a ripe character, with lovely plum, blackberry, lead pencil and leather notes. The tannins are well integrated but still firm. Long finish.’ - Wine Spectator, 93/100 (Dec 1999)

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.