Bodega Los Infantes Orléans Borbón
Orleans y Borbón is a small-scale project with a royal heritage, housed in a beautiful palace in Sanlúcar
Los Infantes Orleans Borbón is situated in the very heart of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. It houses in a beautiful Mudéjar style palace at the border of the Barrio Bajo, where streets go upwards towards the Barrio Alto. It is there that the Duke of Montpensier Antoine d’Orléans, the youngest son of the French kind Louis-Philippe, built his summer palace after having to flee France and falling in love with Sanlúcar in 1849.
While creating his court in the San Telmo palace in Seville, the Duke started a number of business ventures in the province of Cádiz. This included cultivating vineyards in Sanlúcar, in his Torre Breba estate (originally a 220 ha sporting domain with polo clubs). The family also managed the lands that once held the botanical garden of Sanlúcar. Their residence in Sanlúcar is one of the most representative landmarks of the splendor of the city in the 19th century.
Bodegas Orléans y Borbón
While the Torrebreva vineyards were first rented to Richard Davies, one of the big shippers of the 19th century. After this firm was sold off, the descendants of the family, the Infantes de Orleans Borbón, Alonso and Beatriz, founded their own Bodega de los Infantes de Orleans Borbón in 1943. The soleras then held around 8000 butts and were located in the former stables of the palace which currently also act as an event location. Even today the company remains in the royal family, although the palace itself is now the seat of the town council.
Production has always been very limited, focusing on high quality. The wines were essentially intended for the private consumption of the family, with some marketed by Barbadillo in the late 20th century. In recent times the family took full control of marketing again, and the brand became slightly better known through a bottling of Manzanilla Fina by CVA (Compañia de Vinos del Atlántico, distributed through Olé & Obrigado – see Bodegas Poniente).
In 2021 came the news that Álvaro Jaime de Orleans Borbón, the cousin of former King Juan Carlos, withdrew as president of his businesses in the province of Cádiz, including the bodega, the Costa Ballena golf resort and his agricultural firm Torremesa. Residing in Monaco, the Orleans Borbón family has always kept connections with the European royal houses in France and Spain, but they have now put a professional staff outside the family at the forefront of their economic interests.
Orléans Borbón sherry wines
As I explained above, this boutique bodega is aiming high, with a small but well-aged range:
- Manzanilla Torrebreva, of around 5 years of age
- Amontillado Ataulfo, around 15 years
- Palo Cortado Virrey (apparently only bottled very occasionally, around 15 years)
- Oloroso Fenicio, around 15 years
- Pedro Ximénez Carla, around 15 years
The bodega is also producing a sherry brandy named Brandy Gran Reserva Orléans Borbón of around 20 years old, as well as a peach liqueur made from peaches steeped in brandy.
Contact
Bodega Orléans y Borbón
Calle Baños 1
11540 Sanlúcar de Barrameda
www.bodegaorleansborbon.es
info@bodegaorleansborbon.es
Visits are possible by appointment.
About the Author
Ruben is a Certified Sherry Educator who fell in love with sherry some 25 years ago, but switched to a higher gear in 2013 and started writing about it. Lived in Madrid for a couple of years, now back in Belgium. I also run a whisky blog over at www.whiskynotes.be
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