A mercantile judge in Cádiz has accepted an
offer for Bodegas Valdivia in Jerez from the Huelva bodega and cooperage
company José y Miguel Martín SL based in Bollullos par del Condado. The business
of seasoning rum and whisky butts is huge, estimated to total some 60,000
annually, and they are a leading firm in this trade. Glenfarclas is one of their
customers. They had hoped to receive permission to use terms such as “Sherry
cask” or “Oloroso cask” from the Patents Office but the Consejo Regulador put a
stop to that as wine from Huelva is not Sherry.
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| Hotel Villa del Duque, Valdivia bodega in background (foto:diariodejerez) |
The ex Nueva Rumasa complex sold as a (nearly) going
concern, consists of three bodegas and the small Hotel Villa del Duque, and has
been on the market for five years with just one employee to look after it. With
the purchase Martín has acquired a registration with the Sherry Consejo. Naturally
the new owners want to get started as soon as possible, and will take on a
workforce, but not necessarily those who previously worked at the bodega. There
is no mention so far of the price paid. An Israeli group made an offer of 3.3
million euros a year ago, but no more was heard from them. In any case the
price paid will be a bargain, even though much of the stock and equipment has
been sold off. It is thought that Nueva Rumasa originally paid 20 million euros.
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