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| Clive Coates | |
|---|---|
| Name | Clive Coates |
| Birth date | 1941 |
| Death date | 2022 |
| Occupation | Wine critic, writer |
| Notable works | The Wines of Bordeaux; The Wines of Burgundy |
| Nationality | British |
Clive Coates
Clive Coates was a British wine critic, journalist, and author noted for authoritative reference works on Bordeaux wine and Burgundy and for detailed tasting notes that influenced collectors, merchants, sommeliers, and oenologists. Over a career spanning decades he contributed to periodicals, wrote monographs, and produced an encyclopedic two-volume treatment of Burgundy that became a touchstone for professionals associated with Christie's, Sotheby's, The Wine Society, and wine departments at museums such as the Victoria and Albert Museum. His work intersected with institutions, appellations, châteaux, négociants, and wine education bodies across France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan.
Born in Cambridge in 1941, Coates grew up amid post-war Britain during the era of Winston Churchill and the Labour government 1945–51. He attended local schools before undertaking formal training and self-directed study related to viticulture and oenology, consulting texts and archives from institutions such as the Institute of Masters of Wine, the Court of Master Sommeliers, and libraries linked to University of Oxford and University of Cambridge. Early influences included tasting tours that took him to the Bordeaux region and the Burgundy region, and encounters with figures from houses like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Château Margaux, and négociants associated with Maison Joseph Drouhin.
Coates's career combined journalism, book authorship, and consulting. He contributed to magazines and newspapers such as Decanter, The Spectator, The Times, and international journals circulated in New York City, Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. He maintained professional relationships with auction houses including Sotheby's and Christie's and advised restaurants and retailers in cities like London, Paris, New York City, and Tokyo. His tasting methodology and scoring influenced sommeliers trained via the Court of Master Sommeliers and members of the Institute of Masters of Wine. He wrote tasting reports used by wine merchants such as Berry Bros. & Rudd, Harlan Estate distributors, and importers connected to K&L Wine Merchants and La Place de Bordeaux.
Coates authored multiple books and monographs, notably The Wines of Burgundy, a two-volume compendium that documented producers, climat descriptions, and vintage analyses, used alongside reference works by writers such as Jancis Robinson, Hugh Johnson, Michael Broadbent, and Robert Parker. Other titles included The Wines of Bordeaux and guides that paralleled region-specific studies by authors linked to terroir literature and comparative studies referencing appellations like Saint-Émilion, Pauillac, Meursault, and Vosne-Romanée. His publishing partners and reviewers included houses and periodicals such as Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Allen Lane, The Wine Society, and academic presses connected with University of California Press. He also produced tasting compendia used by wine schools including WSET and curricula in culinary institutes like the Culinary Institute of America.
Coates shaped professional and collector perceptions of Burgundy and Bordeaux through meticulous vineyard-level analysis that affected auction valuations at Sotheby's and Christie's and buying decisions at merchants such as Berry Bros. & Rudd and Farr Vintners. His work informed sommeliers at restaurants awarded Michelin stars, and influenced academic and conservation efforts involving grape varieties like Pinot noir, Chardonnay, and practitioners of vinification in domaines like Domaine Leflaive and Domaine Armand Rousseau. Contemporary critics and writers including Jancis Robinson, Charles Metcalfe, Allen Meadows, and Cliff Rames acknowledged his meticulous approach; collectors and auctioneers referenced his vintage notes alongside price guides used in Hong Kong and New York City markets. He contributed to the preservation of climat nomenclature and the elevation of Burgundy's vineyard classification in dialogues involving the Institut National de l'Origine et de la Qualité.
During his career Coates received recognition from wine organizations and cultural institutions. His books earned citations and awards from magazines including Decanter and trade bodies such as the WSET. He was cited by associations in France and the United Kingdom and invited to judge at competitions including the Decanter World Wine Awards and panels organized by institutions like The Court of Master Sommeliers and university wine programs at Bordeaux Sciences Agro.
Coates lived between London and periods in Burgundy while maintaining connections to collectors in New York City and Tokyo. He engaged with wine conservation groups, regional trade bodies in Burgundy, and education initiatives associated with Le Cordon Bleu and the Culinary Institute of America. He died in 2022, leaving behind a body of work that continues to be cited by journalists at The Financial Times, The Guardian, and specialists at auction houses like Sotheby's.
Category:British wine critics Category:1941 births Category:2022 deaths