Bobadilla y Cia. - Brandy Excelsior 103 Viejisimo - b. 1950s - n/a (75cl) - 3 bottles

Excelsior 103 Viejisimo - Brandy de Jerez (3 Bottles)

Bobadilla y Cia. - (Jerez de la Frontera)

Brandy de Jerez
Jerez-Xerez-Sherry
Bottled 1950s-1960s, precinto 80 céntimos (Tax stamp)
Cork stopper - Tapón de corcho

Rewards received:

- Exposición Centro Americana Guatemala 1898
- Exposición Universal de St. Louis (EE. UU.) 1904
- Exposición Internacional de Buenos Aires 1910
- Exposición Muestrario de La Coruña 1923
- Exposición de Vinos Nacionales (Congreso Internacional de la Viña y del Vino) Barcelona 1929


"Don Manuel Fernandez de Bobadilla y Martinez was born in Arenzana, Logroño in 1852. He found his way to Jerez, he began exporting wines in 1879 and founded his bodega in 1882 in the Calle Cristal, 4, in the old monastery of Los Padres Mercedarios. A beautiful building, it was full of patios with overhanging roofs with butts stacked below, and inside, many murals of harvesting and bacchanales. He bought 150 ha of vineyards in Balbaina and Macharnudo and soleras. One of the shareholders was the Marques de Misa. It didn’t take long for Bobadilla to become one of the best bodegas in Jerez. Don Manuel died in 1924, his wife Dona Maria Ragel y Rendon having predeceased him.

His descendants continued to run the firm, and in 1930 the name was changed to Bobadilla & Cia. In the vineyards they were progressive, Gonzalo Fernandez de Bobadilla developing a new clone of Palomino, Palomino 84, which gave a 50% increase in yield with no (apparent) loss in quality. They were particularly successful with their Brandy, however: 103 Etiqueta Blanca, launched in 1903, the older 103 Etiqueta Negra and the Gran Capitan, though the wines enjoyed a very good reputation.

Circunvalacion Bodegas (JL Jimenez/Jerez Siempre)
Towards the end of the 1960's the bodega moved to more spacious premises in the Carretera de Circunvalacion (s/n) - Bodega Don Manuel, and in 2009 the old C/Cristal bodega was converted into a columbarium. First of many bodegas to move out of the town centre, Bobadilla had seen the advantages: easier access for lorries carrying grapes in - and lorries with wine out.

1987 the Dutch liqueur firm Bols made an offer for Bobadilla which was approved by the shareholders. But Alvaro Fernandez Bobadilla, until now a minority shareholder, made an improved offer, and bought almost the entire company for over 1,500 million pesetas, some borrowed from a Danish financier. At the time, the bodega employed about 200 staff and turnover was about 6,000 million pesetas. It also owned Detosa (Destilerias de Tomelloso) as well as distributors in Barcelona, La Coruna, Mexico, USA, and Belgium. There were also three vineyards, 150 hectares in total.

In 1989 Bobadilla merged with Naviera Arenas and Tomas Garcia SA becoming Bodegas Bobadilla SA, but control soon passed out of the family to the European Wine Company, 50% owned by United Dutch Holdings. The firm was launched on the stock market, making it an easier target. In 1992, it was taken over by Osborne, who, as brandy specialists, were principally interested in the Brandy 103. The purchase of Bobadilla helped Osborne become the biggest producer of Brandy de Jerez (42% of it).

Osborne Transferred all the wine (one solera dating back to 1809) and brandy to its own bodegas in El Puerto de Santa Maria, where a huge brandy complex (El Tiro) was built. The Bobadilla Sherries disappeared (what happened to them?), and the 103 Brandy now carries the name Osborne.