Critics Ratings

'Beautiful, rich and still extremely young, this is Lafite at its gulpable, elegant, sculpted, age-defying best. Deeply-spiced cassis notes are joined by touches of cedar - the result of a dry year that saw one of the earliest harvests since 1898. The grapes were picked with high alcohol and ripe tannins and they have absolutely lasted, and will continue to do so. The tannins are cradling the fruit, barely perceptible and yet still fully in control.' - Jane Anson, Decanter.com, 98/100 (May 2018)

'Without question, the bouquet on the 1989 is much fresher and livelier than the 1990. It offers similar aromas to the bottle broached at the end of 2010 with blackberry, dried herbs, a touch of menthol developing. The palate is medium-bodied with great tension and finesse on the entry. Notes of dusky black fruit, sage, a touch of spice and balsamic. It has a fine backbone and superb focus, the finish very elegant and composed with lovely decayed red fruit and a hint of cloves towards. Superb. A point.' - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, 96/100 (Feb 2012)

'This was much richer and sweeter than the Lafites we had tasted in the chai. There was a slightly charred quality to it (was the fruit a bit raisined? or sunburnt? not according to the booklet). It was already well integrated on the nose but a bit unknit on the spicy palate with some notable acidity and a certain drying quality on the end. Rich and solid and a little atypical for Lafite.' - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17/20 (May 2018)

'There is noticeably more bricking at the rim compared to directly with the succeeding vintage. I also notice a touch of VA on this bottle with scent of molasses, cedar and a dab of the old boot polish I find that the 1989 has more personality than the 1990 Lafite. The palate is supple and rounded in the mouth, a sense of warmth here although not complex and I would prefer more tension on the finish as it delivers allspice, mulberry and sage on the aftertaste.' – Neal Martin, Vinous, 91/100 (May 2018)

'The medium to dark ruby-colored 1989 is forward, with the tell-tale fragrance of lead pencils, cedar, and curranty fruit. Its high glycerin and abundant alcohol content reveal the vintage character. The wine has firmed up since bottling and is much less flattering to taste. It is medium-bodied and expansive, with rich fruit, considerable elegance and focus, and a long, full finish loaded with sweet tannin. Anticipated maturity: 1997-2020.' - Robert Parker Jr, Wine Advocate, 92/100 (Jun 1993)

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.