Nick Jackson, MW Consultant | August 29, 2023
Rarely do wine estates succeed both in breathing new life into a grape variety and putting an entire new region on the map of drinkers, but such is the case with Spain's Comando G.
So swift has been the rise of this modern classic, it is worth recapping the basics. Comando G is a project of two friends, Daniel Jiménez-Landi and Fernando García. Working in the Sierra de Gredos hills around Madrid, the pair discovered high-altitude plots of old vine Garnacha (Grenache) grown on sand. Aware of the potential of these vineyards, they arranged to purchase or lease them and produce wine under the Comando G label.
Such is the height of the vineyards (around 1000 meters), that the growing season is long and cool, resulting in Grenache wines that are pale in colour, moderate in alcohol and resoundingly aromatic and pure. They are a kind of cross between Château Rayas and Chambolle-Musigny.
The Bruja de Rozas is the place to start; this is a bright, charming everyday wine. Breña is a small vineyard (0.5 hectares!), producing an open, expressive style of Garnacha. Umbrías is an especially aromatic and delicate single vineyard wine; Tumba del Rey Moro is another single vineyard site producing piercing, intense wines. Finally, the Tamboril Tinto is a cuvée produced from 70+-year-old vines of Garnacha, and made in minute quantities.
