José Pemartin, Jerez

History

Julian Pemartin Rodis, born in Oloron, France in 1770, was a Frenchman who went to Spain when very young and then spent 20 years in Mexico where he made his fortune in the silver mines of Zacatecas. In 1815 he accepted Spanish citizenship and married Mercedes Carolina Laborde Lafargue. In Jerez in 1818, Pemartin bought land with his partner Fermin de Apezechea and planted a vineyard in Cerro Nuevo in Macharnudo.

Over the next 30 years, the business prospered. Julian's brother-in-law Manuel Lagarde joined the firm, effectively running it, and in the early 1820s appointed George Sandeman as agent in London. In 1830 Fermin de Apezechea retired (he died in 1836) and Julian remained the sole owner of the firm.

In 1853 Julian died and left the business to his 3 sons, Julian, José and Francisco. The elder Julian Maria Pemartin Laborde (1816-1885), who married Cristina Hernandez Boutrix, was known as a spendthrift. The firm was the largest exporter in 1856, but in 1864 drew large and unauthorized loans from Sandeman while the quality of the wine deteriorated. The company went bankrupt in 1879.

However, Pemartin's creditors in Spain relaunched the company with Julian's younger brothers under the name Jose Pemartin y Cia. The firm continued to trade until it was taken over by Rumas in 1981. After the collapse of Rumasa, the government merged Pemartin with Bodegas Internacionales (BISA) in 1984, along with Misa, Bertola, Varela, Diestro and Otaolaurruchi. In 1994, BISA was bought by Rioja businessman Marcos Eguizabal, who had already bought the former Rumasa Rioja bodega Paternina from the government. In early 2016, his heirs sold the company to the local Espinosa family.