Farewell, Clive Coates, MW, 1941-2022

Americans first had the pleasure of meeting Clive when he traveled widely in the United States on speaking engagements to promote his classic book, “Côte D’Or: A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy” (University of California Press, 1997). The book received numerous prestigious awards including the André Simon Award (in the UK), the Champagne Veuve Clicquot prize (in the USA), the James Beard Award (in the USA) for the best wine book of the year, and the Prix des Arts et des Lettres awarded by the Burgundian Confrérie du Tastevin.

After visits in the East Coast and the South, he came to Pittsburgh to sign books and entertain an audience with a tasting of Bourgogne  reds ranging from Village wines to a couple of Grand Crus. The event took place in the Duquesne Club, an august private club with a wood-paneled grand dining room holding over one hundred guests.

Then in his early sixties, Coates stood tall with his snowy beard and mustache, balding pate and sturdy 6-foot frame. He comfortably gripped the lectern. And then, like a jazz musician about to play riffs rich in complicated melodies, Coates leaned forward with eyes partially closed in concentration.

His virtuoso torrent of incisive observations delivered in gravelly tones held the audience’s full attention.  Witty quips, vivid stories and profound insights earned from 40 years of tasting and selling wines punctuated a performance replete with graceful gestures. It is an unforgettable theatrical moment.

And that’s point. Clive understood he was on stage and giving a performance. He took the duty of communicating about Bourgogne—and other French wines—as a calling. As he wrote in The Quarterly Review of Wines,

“Those of us who know a little about wine have inevitably been taught by others, and it is our duty to pass this knowledge and experience on to the next generation. We are today’s mentors. So we must be generous with our time and old bottles…It is immensely rewarding to come across a young man or woman who…has the ‘knack’ with wine. These people should be encouraged fifty times over.”

Clive believed strongly that wine enthusiasts with sincere passion should never “cherry pick” top producers’ grand cru wines from terrific vintages. Rather he advised relying of recommendations from reliable, passionate wine merchants. He strongly advised against using merchants who had “emasculated themselves” by substituting numerical scores for their own professional judgments. Above all, Clive believed in drinking, sharing and enjoying all Bourgogne wines without regard to replacement costs. When he was “off stage,” Clive put his philosophy in action.

As a former wine merchant, Clive liked to spend his off time with fellow wine professionals such as Greg Godels and Jerry Cauley, now retired Pittsburgh-based French wine importers at Gateway Wines and Spirits. In fact, it was Godels and Cauley who extended the initial invitation to Clive to come to Pittsburgh.

Before his performance at the Duquesne Club, Clive had lunch at Gateway Wines’ office. Relaxed and dressed casually in open-collar shirt and slacks, Clive happily munched on a juicy hamburger from Rally’s, a popular local burger joint. With an appreciative smile, he jokingly held the sandwich with pinkies extended before taking a bite.

Clive enjoyed immensely the humble Rhône red wines served with lunch. After a couple of hours, Clive went back to the Club to change into his “uniform,” as he put it, in anticipation for that evening’s performance.

Clive returned annually to Pittsburgh for many years. And before his evening performances, we often invited Clive for wine lunches at “How Lee,” a popular authentic Sichuan style restaurant in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. Clive loved it. He especially enjoyed the Spicy Sichuan Prawns (“without the shells, please”) and Sichuan Eggplant. He declared How Lee better than any Sichuan restaurant he had experienced in London.

Speaking of London, eventually Clive sold his home in London for a nifty profit, and he retired to a comfortable little compound called “Les Petits Baronnets.” It was off the beaten track in the hamlet of Saint-Bonnet-de-Vieille-Vigne in southern Bourgogne. And although ill health prevented Clive from making annual visits to the U.S. in recent years, he extended an open invitation to American wine friends to stay with him in France.

Clive particularly loved “Les Petits Baronnets” because he finally had a cellar large enough to store his wines conveniently in one place. Also he had a swimming pool to enjoy his favorite form of exercise and relaxation throughout the summer. Clive also liked living close enough to the great domaines and vineyards of the Côte D’Or to visit easily, but he also liked being just far enough away to have a serene place without the hectic pace of tourism.

It was a sincere pleasure to visit Clive and see him so content living at “Les Petits Baronnets” despite his precarious health. He liked to sit in a large easy chair accompanied by his dog and little kitten and listen to news or opera on the BBC. He was surrounded by books, including the many he had authored and plenty of other fascinating titles for the casual visitor to sample. In his modest dining room, he had a complete set of the 241 issues of “THE VINE,” an independent fine wine magazine that Clive published from 1984 to 2005. He also maintained an excellent website at Clive-Coates.com.

During this time at “Les Petits Baronnets,” Clive ate modestly, but always drank well. When visiting, one could be assured of enjoying a bottle or two of premier cru or grand cru reds from Clive’s favorite producers such as Sylvain Cathiard, Anne Gros or Michel Lafarge.

In 2017 when I led a tour of six wine enthusiasts to Burgundy, Clive agreed to join us in Beaune for dinner followed by domaine visits the next day. I offered Clive his choice of restaurants in Beaune. Instead of picking a Michelin-starred establishment, true to his essentially fun-loving, humble character, Clive choose Chez Louis, a modest pub where he could order one his favorites, good old fish and chips. That said, we still drank well from Chez Louis’ very solid wine list.

The next day, at each domaine the vignerons welcomed Clive as an old friend. Our group, in turn, received warm welcomes. Along the way on our little bus, Clive took the microphone and regaled the group with informative stories and comments on the vineyards. Over the years, he had walked the vineyards of every village in the Côte D’Or, so he knew every nook and cranny.

At our last domaine visit, the vigneron had a signed copy of Clive’s “Côte D’Or: A Celebration of the Great Wines of Burgundy” on the shelf in the tasting room. As we departed, the vigneron, as a token of friendship and good will, gave Clive a bottle of 2014 Romanée St. Vivant, a very grand bottle indeed. Back on the bus, Clive, in turn, gave the bottle to me and thanked me for inviting him to be part of our day. The bottle remains in my cellar today.

It was a gesture typical of Clive. For those with a genuine passion for wine, he was truly generous in sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm. And as a writer and lecturer, he was erudite and informative without being pompous and pretentious. He had firm confidence in his opinions and hard-earned knowledge of wine, but at heart Clive had true humility. He knew he never could have achieved his amazing accomplishments without help along the way. And he was always ready to do the same for others while sharing good wine and good times.

R.I.P. and farewell, Clive Coates. M.W. Your friends in Pittsburgh miss you already and will remember you fondly always. Cheers and we look forward to sharing another glass of Bourgogne one day on the other side.