Échézeaux 1999, 2007, 2010, 2015

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.

Critics Ratings

Romanée-Conti Échézeaux 1999
'The 1999 Échézeaux stands out for its striking inner perfume and sweetness. Dark cherries, plums, mocha, violets and menthol all flesh out in a rich, inviting Burgundy that is just now beginning to approach an early plateau of maturity that will last another 20+ years. With time in the glass, the 1999 turns deep and rich. In this case, the vintage is a very strong marker, perhaps even more so than site. Far from an easygoing wine, the 1999 Échézeaux is a wine of notable intensity and pure power.' - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 94/100 (Dec 2013)

'I was intrigued to see how the 1999 Echezeaux would be performing at 14 years of age since I have not tasted it since just after bottling. It has a very classy nose of dark cherry fruit, quite exotic for one of Aubert de Villaine's wines, with hints of blood orange and even peach skin infusing the opulent aromatic profile. The palate is well-balanced and tightly knit, though it is clear that the RSV 1999 alongside was born with a higher level of delineation and clarity. Still, you have to admire the brio and hubris of this Echezeaux, and its youthful zeal suggests it will age over three decades without too much sweat. Delicious. Drink 2015-2030.' - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, 92/100 (Aug 2013)

Romanée-Conti Échézeaux 2007
'Gentle spice, hint of cigar box and delicate oak spice aromas and something perfumed and almost exotic, a little like sandalwood, opening up to spiced red fruit and candied orange-peel freshness. Already so multi-faceted and open on the nose. Very tangy and finely spiced on the palate too. There's density and elegant tannic structure but so well dressed in light but fine fruit that you barely see the framework. Fine spicy grip on the long fresh finish. Silky, scented, gorgeous. The most approachable of the 2007 grands crus tasted alongside.' - Julia Harding MW, JancisRobinson.com, 18.5/20 (Feb 2010)

'Good colour. Ample, round, ripe nose. Gingerbread touches. Medium-full body. Good vigour and backbone. Good depth. Harmonious, long, stylish and complex. Fine.' - Clive Coats MW, Decanter.com, 91/100 (Feb 2018)

'A mix of floral, vegetal and spice aromas, followed by cherry and berry flavors, highlight this elegant, even ethereal red, whose flavors are somewhat submerged. Yet this is long and balanced, gaining fruit and flesh with air.' - Wine Spectator, 91/100 (2012)

“A spicy, expressive and expansive nose of red berry fruit, distinct vegetal nuances, freshly sliced fennel and obvious earth notes that transfer over to the detailed, balanced and energetic flavors that possess excellent transparency on the vibrant and mouth coating finish. There is a lingering inner mouth perfume here that makes this quite seductive. Not surprisingly, this changed rather dramatically in the hour that I had to evaluate the ’07s and the seemingly lighter weight flavors put on noticeable flesh though the nose slowly closed in on itself.” - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, 90/100 (Jan 2010)

“Good bright medium red. Cherry liqueur, black raspberry and smoke on the sweet nose, along with some spicy oak. Offers more volume and breadth than the Echezeaux without any impression of weight thanks to piquant underlying minerality. Wonderfully silky and suave wine, finishing with building tannins, superb length and a strong impression of sucrosite.” - Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, 92/100 (Mar 2010)

Romanée-Conti Échézeaux 2010
“Very sweet and charming without being at all heavy. Flirtatious. Strawberry. Still quite a bit of tannin.” - Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17.5/20 (Dec 2017)

“Exuberant and ripe spicy purple fruit also exhibits distinct floral and warm earth nuances that go on to suffuse the rich and finely detailed medium-bodied flavors that possess excellent underlying tension before terminating in a focused, intense and gorgeously long finish. This is pure silk and lace but the really impressive aspect of this wine is just how much depth it has. A sublime knockout, particularly by the usual standards of this wine.” - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com, 94/100 (Jan 2013)

“Good bright, deep red. Superb precision to the aromas of black cherry, dark raspberry and Oriental spices. Intensely flavored and bracing, with terrific saline energy to the flavors of red berries, white pepper and blood orange. Showing more fruit intensity today than the Corton. Leaves the palate tingling on the long, vibrant aftertaste. A superb vintage for this cuvee. Aubert de Villaine noted that he vinified his 2010 reds with 60% to 80% whole clusters, with the higher percentage generally used for vines affected by millerandage.” - Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, 93+/100 (Mar 2013)

Romanée-Conti Échézeaux 2015
“More spice than their Corton, seemingly from oak, and the fruit has a more sour, tighter profile. Graint tannin and dry, fibrous mouthfeel. There’s lots of volume here, but the fruit seems quite constrained. This requires study and time to appreciate fully.” - Richard Hemming MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17.5++/20 (Feb 2018)

“The 2015 Echézeaux Grand Cru was cropped at 25.70hl/ha and picked on 12 and 14 September. It has an engaging bouquet that offers a mixture of red and blue fruit, perhaps more floral than I have discerned in previous vintages, hint of crushed violet surfacing after 10 to 15 minutes in the glass. There is something playful about this Echézeaux. It’s a little ingenue. The palate is medium-bodied with juicy ripe fruit with commendable density, a little more sinew and backbone than previous vintages, albeit without the tension and complexity of its siblings on the finish. This is an impressive Echézeaux that should drink younger than its siblings.” - Neal Martin, Vinous, 93/100 (Apr 2018)

“After the more restrained Corton, the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s 2015 Échézeaux Grand Cru bursts from the glass with a flamboyant bouquet of mulberry, black cherry, wood smoke and a lavish framing of new oak. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, concentrated and intense, with a classically firm chassis of tannin and a lovely core of sappy, succulent fruit. This was the last of DRC’s vineyards to be harvested, but despite its overtly ripe aromas and flavors, it retains superb acidity and focus and should amply reward cellaring. Cropped at 26 hectoliters per hectare and harvested September 12 and 14.” - William Kelley, Wine Advocate, 93/100 (Feb 2018)