Scotsman Kenneth MacKenzie came to Jerez about 1842 and in either 1852 or 1860 established a shipping business. The bodega, which was next door to that of Marques de Misa, once contained a pool with a pair of Mississippi alligators. The firm specialised in Amontillado and Cream styles, much destined for sale to Harveys in Bristol. The wines were good, winning various medals over the years, and a brandy was also produced.
MacKenzie was one of quite a few Sherry shippers who also had interests in Port, and he joined with one William Minchin Driscoll in 1870 to form the firm Mackenzie Driscoll in Oporto, becoming a private limited company in 1900. This lasted till the hard times of the post war era and was sold to Ferreira. The last MacKenzie Port shipped was the 1966. The old lodge at Vila Nova de Gaia now belongs to Andresen, and the name MacKenzie is now as lost in Portugal as it is in Spain.
His nephew, Peter MacKenzie, became the resident partner in Jerez and eventually succeeded his uncle. He never even bothered to learn Spanish. In 1958 the firm ceased supplying bulk wines to Harveys, who then made an agreement with Rumasa to supply them for 99 years,allowing for the enormous expansion of Rumasa. In 1966 Harveys were taken over by Showerings and they in turn by Allied Breweries in 1968.
Harveys scrapped their agreement with Rumasa, and with Allied finance went on a buying spree and bought MacKenzie in 1970 along with 4,000 butts of wine and 40 hectares of vineyard. They had for long bought wine from MacKenzie, so the circle was squared. They also bought Marques de Misa, Palomino and Vergara and Fernando A de Terry. At this time MacKenzie was run by Diego Ferguson from a family originating in Banffshire, Scotland, Maria Luisa Ferguson and Ramiro Fernandez-Gao who joined the firm as it merged with his own, Ramiro Fernandez-Gao. One of the seven old XIX century MacKenzie bodegas is now occupied by Emilio Lustau, and the rest of the complex is occupied by Harveys.
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Hola Paula, en casa tengo una botella de Jerez igual que la mostrada en este Post. Me provoca mucha curiosidad saber que valor aproximado podría tener una botella así y he pensado que quizás usted podría darme alguna orientación. Muchas gracias, un saludo.
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