It all began when Don Jose Cabaleiro do Largo and
family decided to get involved in the wine business in Chipiona in 1795. The Cabaleiro family hailed from Vigo, Galicia, and were already known in the Jerez area as wood suppliers. A major step forward was the purchase, in 1830, of the old bodegas of the Dukes of Medinaceli in El Puerto de Santa Maria, which contained valuable old XVII century soleras of Amontillado and Oloroso. They acquired vineyards in Sanlucar
and set up a still to distill the wines of Sanlucar and Chipiona. Since that
time the company has been involved in the entire production process of wines
and spirits.
By the 1870s the firm was expanding, having begun exports to
Britain and America and bought two important vineyards totalling 33 hectares:
El Benito and Las Cruzes. In 1908 the firm launched Conac Caballero and
concentrated its export efforts to
Britain. At the end of the 1930s they opened a glass factory Vidrierias
del Guadalete mainly to supply America
as the War had put Supplies from England out of reach. By the 1940s the firm
became a Group with interests in glass, farming and wines and spirits. They
acquired the bodegas of Jose de La Cuesta and John William Burdon in 1932, becoming
Grupo Caballero. In the 1970s the company bought the old bodegas Sancho
opposite the Puerto de Santa Maria bullring and restructured itself featuring
its brands and there was strong growth in sales of both wines and spirits,
especially for Ponche Caballero, the leading brand of its type.
This growth funded the acquisition of bodegas from outside
the Sherry zone: Marques de Irun in Rueda; Vina Herminia in Rioja and Santuario
in Toro, and in 1990 the best acquisition of them all, Emilio Lustau. The traditional
old Cazalla distillery joined Grupo Caballero in 1996 and proceeded to successfully
launch Miura liqueur, and a distribution company Europvin was established, based
in Bordeaux and run by Christopher Cannan. In June 2008, Caballero acquired
four of the famous Pedro Domecq brands: La Ina, Rio Viejo, Vina 25 and Botaina, which are marketed under the Lustau brand, yet keep the old Domecq appearance.
Caballero’s San Marcos bodegas in El Puerto de Santa Maria
are integrated with the old XIIC Castillo San Marcos, and every summer a
musical cycle of concerts is held in the patio which is one of the best cultural events in the town.
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| Castillo San Marcos |
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| Bodegas San Marcos (formerly Sancho) |
The Group products include:
Ponche, Liqueurs and Cream Liqueurs, Brandies, Table wines
from Ribera del Duero, Rueda, Rioja and Distribution of others companies' brands.
Apart from the Lustau and Domecq brands, the bodegas own
Sherries are:
Fino Pavon
Amo Don Luis
Oloroso Real
Manola Cream
Padre Lerchundi Moscatel de Chipiona
Address: Calle San Francisco, 32, El Puerto de Santa Maria,
Cadiz
Web: www.caballero.es
Tel: 956 851 751
Visits: yes but phone in advance to arrange
