Escorial – A Flock All Their Own

Not all wools are created equal.  Such is the, um, nature, of natural materials.  Different sheep give different wool and people have been trying for centuries to get the best off our fuzzy little friends.  Interbreeding and dietary changes are commonplace.  But the Escorial flocks have remained nearly untouched for hundreds of years.

If you think sheep are just sheep, think again.  While most sheep these days are hybrid breeds who are purpose-bred to produce various types and grades of wool, there are a handful of “pure breeds” still around.  The Escorial flocks of Australia and New Zealand are probably the most profound example.

These flocks (I’ve found numbers ranging from as low as two to as high as six) can trace their line directly back to those kept at the El Escorial Palace in Spain by King Phillip II.  They migrated up from the Mahgreb with Moorish settlers in the early 16th century, and are a smaller breed of sheep.  Eventually the decedents of these sheep were taken to the then-colonies sometime in the early nineteenth-century, where they were closely guarded long after they stopped being kept by the courts of Europe.  Sadly the world wars killed off all the remaining european flocks.

So a royal backstory is all good and well, but it’s the actual wool that counts, no?  The average micron count for Escorial fiber is around 12 microns, which, if you’re not familiar with these sorts of numbers, is extremely small.  Even more importantly though, the fibers are extremely long due to their curled structure.  So once the sheep are shorn and the fibers drawn out, you end up with a perfect mix of fineness, elasticity, and length.  This results in a much more durable and crease-resistant cloth than other options at this fineness. You’re looking at Super 180s or 200s to get a similar micron count, but this stuff makes your typical Supers look like flimsy sandpaper.

Until a few years ago, Brioni had exclusive rights to all the existing Escorial, but now mills like Reid & Taylor and Holland & Sherry are producing fine examples which you can have made up by the tailor of your choosing.  Color options are decent, though don’t expect anything really unique since it’s the wool that’s doing the talking here.

I’m not partial to super-fine worsteds in general.  All the usual problems – low-durability, too much shine, travels poorly  - are pretty well alleviated when dealing with Escorial.  That said, it’s still on the shiny, and pricy, side for what I usually go for, but if top-quality worsteds are your suiting of choice, take a look at Escorial.