Our Craftsmen

MARCOS ALGUACIL

Master blender

Our winemaker and Master Blender, Marcos Alguacil, has a degree in biology from the University of Seville, and finished his training with a doctoral thesis at the University of Malaga. Marcos is in charge of ensuring the quality and consistency of our brandies and sherries throughout the processes of winemaking, distilling and ageing. 

His passion for the art of winemaking and blending led him to being named the best winemaker of fortified wines and liqueurs at the International Bacchus Competition 2022 thanks to the good results obtained and the extraordinary quality shown by the products.  An award that recognises the expertise and mastery of the team. 

In the words of Marcos, to be a Master Blender, “you need to have great sensitivity and a real affection for brandy.  It is a world in which sensations and perceptions are transmitted, in which you work with a product that is both delicate and complicated, such as brandy". 

JESÚS FIGUEREO

COOPER

Jesús Figuereo Gutiérrez is a true craftsman who has been with us for 31 years. His main job is the maintenance and repair of the American oak butts in the winery. 

Jesús carries out what is known as the "review" of all the andanas or rows in the cellar, cask by cask, looking for stains on the staves that could indicate possible leaks. However, the work that undoubtedly requires the most dedication takes place in the cooperage workshop, where all the casks that have not been repaired in the cellar itself go. This is where he carries out the “desfondado” - the removal of the barrel heads, the replacement of staves, the scraping, the “empajado” (inserting rush straw into joins), the “rebatido” or firing and many other skills of craftsmanship that require, above all, mastery. 

JUAN PACHECO

CELLAR MANAGER

Juan Pacheco Sánchez is our cellar manager and has been part of Osborne for 33 years. He has worked side by side with his father since he started at the age of 17 as a "pinche" or apprentice in the cellar. 

Juan is a master of the art of the “saca“(extraction) and “el rocío” (refreshing the casks). He is also in charge of the blending of the holandas, and the tasks of moving and storing the casks in the cellars. 

ISABEL CASAS

LABORATORY MANAGER

Isabel Casas is responsible for analysing brandy samples at different stages of elaboration from freshly distilled wine spirits or holandas to finished products. She graduated in Food Technology and began her professional career abroad. She soon returned to her homeland to continue the work that her father and grandfather, both prestigious oenologists from Jerez, carried out with the wines and brandies of Osborne.

RAFAEL GARCÍA

PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR

García organises and oversees the tasks to be carried out both in the winery and in the brandy production plant. His responsibilities range from the reception of the holandas to their ageing, subsequent blending, and preparation for bottling. 

He has been part of the Osborne team for 35 years and is a true perfectionist and expert in the care of our brandy, thanks to the many years he spent working in the Analytical and RDI departments of our laboratory.

Rafael comes from a long line of Osborne foremen: his grandfather in the Export Wine Cellar and his father in the old bottling plant on Calle San Bartolomé. It is clear that, by training and heritage, he is the best foreman we could have.