This was an
old XVIII ermita (hermitage) built by the Carthusian monks on land near the
Guadalete river just south-east of Jerez, about a mile from their famous
Cartuja. It was used by the monks for agriculture and animal rearing,
especially the famous Cartujano horses, as well as a retreat for elderly monks.
The name Salto al Cielo means “jump to heaven” as this was the place from which
the old monks would depart on that journey. Their land was confiscated by the state
in the 1830s and later sold to the López de Carrizosa family. While the old
ermita is gone, there remain visible traces of its foundations.
Grupo Salto
al Cielo is a farming and food group established by Luis López de Carrizosa
Ybarra on the same land in 1967 and which is divided into four fincas. The huge
estate grows avocados, oranges, carob, potatoes, carrots and cotton among many
other things. Then there are Limousin cattle, holiday accommodation for “agro-tourism”
and a further 2,600 hectares of land for hunting. Full facilities are available
for riding and classes are given in show-jumping and dressage. There is even a
XIX century chapel in the finca.
While
mainly concerned with all the above, the estate has a small bodega called Conde
de Peraleja, an inherited family title bestowed on a previous López de
Carrizosa by Alfonso XIII in 1905 (the family has been in the area for over 800
years and helped defend Jerez against the Moors). Here Amontillado, Oloroso, PX
and Cream are produced under the brand name Salto al Cielo (once a brand name
of the now lost bodegas Barón de Algar which was owned by the family - see separate post). As there are no
vineyards, the musts are bought in to feed the soleras. The Oloroso comes from
a tiny solera of 5 butts with an average age of 50 years and is selected by
Beltran Domecq. Perhaps some of the old wine came from the Baron de Algar bodega
founded in 1830 by Francisco Javier López de Carrizosa y Pavón which closed in
the early 1980s.
£25 per
half bottle UK agents Ehrmanns, but not yet available
