The Pitt
family made their fortune in India and were actively involved in British
politics. William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham was twice Prime Minister
during the XVIII century. His second son William also became Prime Minister
aged only 24, being known as “Pitt the Younger” while the elder son, John (b.
1756) inherited the title. While John was a soldier in earlier life, he filled
various government posts including First Lord of the Admiralty. He was not
over-successful in these posts and in 1820 he was appointed Governor of
Gibraltar until his death in 1835.
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| John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham |
The Pitts
were fond of a drink, and John the 2nd. Earl was no exception. No doubt important
government business was conducted under the influence, and he was famous for
his hospitality in Gibraltar. Here he discovered the merits of Sherry and when
his executors looked into his estate they found a cellar full of it at his
London residence. They called in a leading wine merchant, Charles Bertram, to
list and value the wine, which came to the sum of £599/19/0 (five hundred and
ninety-nine pounds and nineteen shillings) – or the equivalent today of
£52,000. That was a lot of wine for a widower with no children.
Over 2,000
bottles of wine, of which half was Sherry, were laid in over 25 bins in the
cellar, in bottles and pints. Much of it came from Haurie and Cadoza except 46
bottles of Pajarete which Chatham had shipped himself. There was a fair
quantity of Madeira which had been given to him, some Málaga, Port, Constantia
and some liqueurs and other table wines. The Earl’s preference however was
undoubtedly Sherry, generally sweet Sherry.
Information from alwayswantedtobeareiter.wordpress and Jose Luis Jimenez
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