Entrance to the Domecq Winery in Jerez
José Domecq de la Riva, or Pepe Domecq ‘Pantera’, as he was known (the last surname being acquired because of a pet panther he once owned) was the scion of the family. During my Jerez years I got to know him well and would often go up to his bathroom and sit by his tub drinking pre-lunch copìtas of La Ina brought up by the butler. At his office in the bodega, he did nothing apart from sign cheques and drink sherry supplied through a dumb waiter. Every August the family summered in Marbella, initially at the Don Pepe hotel and later on board his yacht in Puerto Banús. There were never less than ten people for lunch
daily, always at Antonio’s in Puerto Banús, and occasional dinners at La Fonda. The Domecq private secretary, Badillo, would come down from Jerez at the end of the stay to go around Marbella settling all the bills that Pepe had signed during the month. As Pepe aged, he became more concerned about his financial situation, an example being when the palace’s domestic staff requested an increase in their bread ration and as a result felt the rough edge of his tongue. Needing to remove a cyst behind his ear, and rather than pay for private medical attention, a paramedic carried out the operation, without anesthetic, in the surgery of his private bullring. Lashings of La Ina was available for the onlookers. There was always a shadow
over Pepe’s social situation, as he had committed an offence for which he was never forgiven by his Jerez peers. He had become involved with one of the servants, which resulted in his wife leaving him and taking the children. He continued the affair and replaced his wife with his mistress. This behaviour was unacceptable, and he was ostracised for life. Although he continued to act the part of a sherry baron at the ferias, he was rejected socially by his peers. Following his death, the bishop would not allow his coffin to enter the cemetery’s chapel, describing the occupant’s life as dissolute and ‘extramarital’. A life described elsewhere however as that of ‘the last señorito of Jerez’. e
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