Palomino y Vergara - Coñac Requeté, Tres Aspas - b. Lata 30., Lata 40. - n/a (75cl)

Coñac Requeté - Tres Aspas

Palomino y Vergara - (Jerez)

Coñac, Brandy de Jerez
Jerez-Xerez-Sherry
Founded in 1865
Bottled circa 1930s, precinto 20 céntimos (Tax stamp)
Cork stopper

"In 1765 a man called Palomino (claimed by the family, and not without reason, to be descended from the knight Fernan Yanez Palomino who helped Alfonso X defeat the Moors at the battle of Jerez, and after whom the grape is named) set himself up as a vine grower and wine maker. He earned himself a decent reputation and did well. At roughly the same time three brothers called Juan, Bartolome and Mateo Vergara y Vegas of El Puerto de Santa Maria joined up with a British firm, becoming Vergara & Dickson. This firm prospered and moved to Jerez. Later the firm's name was changed to Juan Vicente Vergara before the two firms merged to become Palomino & Vergara at the beginning of the 20th century.

They were quite a pair. Juan Jose Palomino was appointed Deputy for Andalucia in 1933 by the II Republic, and was also owner of the Diario de Jerez newspaper. Juan Vergara was also a bit of a businessman, having established a pair of factories, one for pencils and the other for ice. They took over the now lost firm of Jose Bertemati. The Vergara family owned a beautiful mansion called the Atalaya, for a while Rumasa's HQ in Jerez, now the Jerez Museum. They owned 300 hectares of vineyard, and their impressive bodega formed a complex known as the 12 Disciples, but unfortunately only three remain; La Cruce, Pio XII and Dios Baco. The latter, built in 1848, was named after a statue of Bacchus on the facade, one of quite a few embellishments. It contained 2,000 butts and a cooperage."