Bordeaux Theme
Live Virtual Auction, 26 March 2023
Bordeaux Fine Wine
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
About this Item
Château Haut-Brion is the only First Growth situated in the Pessac-Léognan appellation, and its unique terroir has produced prized wines for close to 600 years. After a visit on May 25, 1787, Thomas Jefferson wrote in his diary; “The soil of Haut-Brion, which I examined in great detail, is made up of sand, in which there is near as much round gravel or small stones and very little loam like the soils of the Médoc.”. Typical of the Left Bank of Bordeaux, the 50-hectare property is planted to all the allowed red and white grape varieties, with the Haut-Brion Blanc often demanding higher prices than that of the red.
Critics Ratings
‘While in some vintages La Mission Haut-Brion and Haut-Brion can be close in quality, that is not the case in this vintage. The 1996 Haut-Brion, a blend of 50% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc is clearly on a higher plane than the La Mission. There is something much more expansive and complete on the nose: greater depth of fruit, more harmonious with scents of underbrush, tar, black olive and this bottle perhaps less "feral" than I have noticed on previous examples. The palate is very well balanced with dark cherries, sous-bois and cedar. This is one vintage where I think the Cabernet Franc plays an important role and lends more complexity. This is a 1996 that has retained and built upon beguiling fleshiness and it will continue to evolve with style and panache.’ - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, 95/100 (Jul 2016)
‘50% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon. Wonderfully round and developed and subtle. More subtle than La Mission with a drier finish. Chewy end still there – and in with a fight. This does not seem to have fully unfurled yet and should make a great wine eventually. Putty and minerals. Still quite tight!’ - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 18.5/20 (Feb 2011)
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.
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