Vintage ‘jamón,’ the foodie luxury fetching up to €80,000

It is the oldest leg of ham in the world, from 2006. It is also one of the most prized because of its rarity: it belongs to the Vintage collection of the Salamanca-based Iberian ham company Joselito, the first that began classifying ham by vintage in 1999. And as in the case of wine, it classifies hams by groups: the Gran Reserva seal is for hams that have been cured between four and six years, Millesime, between six and eight, and Vintage for those over eight years old and where the pigs enjoyed two montaneras (the time that the pig spends in the pastures feeding on acorns and grass). This most exclusive jamón of all is a luxury that ranges between €60,000 and €80,000.

“It’s something very exclusive, only hams that we consider can age and evolve well for the next eight to ten years can enter that group, but we have seen that some can go up to 18 years, depending on the ham. Not all hams will do,” says José Gómez, brand manager at the top-tier ham brand Joselito.

Of the many varieties of Spanish pork products, the most sought-after is Ibérico de bellota, traditionally produced from the black Iberian pig, which forages for acorns in woodland, giving its cured ham a unique flavor, texture and hue. The industry has been mostly the preserve of family businesses, with Joselito having gained global prominence in recent years.

The eye-watering price of their 2006 jamón was decided 10 years ago. “We didn’t know what price it could fetch, we had no idea, and that’s when we decided to put it up for auction, and it sold for that price,” says Gómez, who is a member of the sixth generation of a family dedicated to raising Iberian pigs in Guijuelo, in Spain’s Salamanca province. Three years later, they decided to sell another one for the same amount as its predecessor had fetched at auction. Joselito has nearly 80 legs of ham that have been cured for over eight years.

The montanera is key. Gómez compares it to the grape harvest in wines. And here the climatic conditions —temperature, rainfall, whether the start is late or early, or the type of acorn of the season — come into play. But it is also important that the product is completely natural. “We are what we eat, that’s why we practice regenerative grazing [which favors the rotation of grazing areas, that is, keeping livestock in a given area for a short period of time, and thus allowing the soil and vegetation to recover during rest periods], because it is the soil that nourishes the plants, the animals and us. It also has no preservatives or additives and the salting is done with sea salt.”

However, the brand manager warns that money is not the only requirement: “We sell these rare hams all over the world, to individuals, to shops and restaurants. They are also sold in Spain, but not to just anyone. It has to be a type of client who values the product, who really understands it, because it is very special. It can’t be just someone who can afford it.”

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