From colonial trading house to the Sherry Triangle bodega group
The roots of Grupo Estevez go back to 1809, when the trading house José Leña Rendón & Co. was founded in Jerez for the production of sherry and brandy. In 1894, the Ruiz family took over the business and continued it under the name Félix Ruiz y Ruiz for almost nine decades, with trade relations extending to Northern Europe and South America.
In 1974, the entrepreneur José Estévez de los Reyes bought the house, and in 1984 it received its current name, José Estévez S.A. From here, a corporate group grew within a few decades that ranks among the large independent family businesses in the Sherry Triangle: between 1982 and 1985, Marqués del Real Tesoro was added, and in 1999 the traditional bodega Valdespino, whose commercial activity dates back to 1430 and whose foundation, according to tradition, was laid as early as 1264, when King Alfonso X rewarded the knight Alfonso Valdespino with land in Jerez. In 2007, the acquisition of Hijos de Rainera Pérez Marín followed, the bodega behind the Manzanilla brand La Guita from Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
Own vineyards, long aging, passion for details
As an independent family business, Grupo Estevez controls large parts of the value chain itself: the group owns around 800 hectares of its own vineyards, including plots in Pago Macharnudo, one of the most respected single vineyards in the Sherry Triangle and the origin of Valdespino's Fino Inocente. This proximity to the vineyard allows for precise control of grape quality before the wines mature in the cellar in criaderas y soleras.
At the company headquarters on the road to Seville, the group's cellar management, bottling and administration come together. The site also includes a stud farm and an art collection – reflections of the founder's passions, who collected not only sherry but also horses and paintings, and has left these traces in the company to this day.
A range that shows the full spectrum of sherry
Several historical names come together under the umbrella of Grupo Estevez – Valdespino, Marqués del Real Tesoro and the Manzanilla La Guita – and with them a style spectrum that covers almost every sherry category: from bone-dry Finos aged under flor to salty-fresh Manzanilla and nutty-complex Amontillados and dense Olorosos.
The Valdespino Contrabandista Amontillado Medium Dry is exemplary of this signature: the base matures for eight years under the flor yeast before it is aged oxidatively for another eight years in the Amontillado solera Tio Diego. A small portion of Pedro Ximénez rounds off the wine and provides roasted aromas of hazelnut and caramel alongside a dry-spicy core. Served at cellar temperature, it pairs well with consommés, Pâté or a piece of aged cheese.
