Lucien Michel | September 10, 2019
The Quest for Freshness
Reviving a heritage of forgotten Grenacha vines, has been the passion of two Spaniards: Daniel Gómez Landi and Fernando Garcia.
The Sierra de Gredos mountains - west of Madrid - was a vine growing area that had been abandoned by a generation, for various reasons, with the main one being that this land is very difficult to access. This obstacle and higher costs of maintaining the vineyards, as well as doing harvests by hand, didn't scare off these two adventurous men, in their search for freshness. In a country where full-bodied wines are the norm, they went to the most extreme villages of the Sierra de Gredos mountains, to find the terroir to respond to their quest: with an elevation of 900 to 1200 above sea level, old Grenacha vines of 60-90 years old and a high diurnal range to maintain acidity in the grapes.
Born in 2008, the Comando G project also had the goal to produce wines that reflect their terroir. They decided to classify their wines according to the Burgundy system of Village:1er Cru and Grand Cru wines; and like in Burgundy the classification is based on the vineyard.
Interestingly, I find a certain Burgundy-esque appeal to them, resembling the freshness and purity Pinot Noir can reach in that region. However, they have their own identity and they claim their role model is no other than the legendary Rayas in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, widely recognized as the finest 100% Grenache wine. In the cellar, they work with minimal intervention, use 100% whole clusters, followed by slow maceration, fermentation in open oak vats and elevage in variously sized, used oak barrels - demi-muids and foudres.
We are pleased to offer all the “Grand Cru” level wines in 2016: Las Umbrias, Rumbo Al Norte, Tumba del Rey Moro and La Breña. 2016 is superbly seductive and a fruit-forward vintage, there is such finesse here, and my favourite is Las Umbrias, which has an added depth.
In 2017, we have the Rozas “1er Cru” and La Bruja de Rozas “Village”, which are, surprisingly, a touch more closed at this stage. 2017 seems to be a more austere vintage.
These wines are truly sensational, and reflect a unique sense of place. We are very proud to support the Comando G project, and invite you to give these a try, especially if you are a Burgundy fan, or like wines with a lift of freshness.
