November â the month of the drowned dog ~Ted Hughes; The eleventh twelfth of a weariness ~ Ambrose Bierce The Devil’s Dictionary and the arrival of the first tranche of Comando G wines. Although that has a less poetic ring to it, even if the wines inspire us to epic praise.
The wines themselves are Garnacha Tinto in excelsis and terroir in particular. The delineations are clear. Gredos, west of Madrid, is not a single homogenous district, but divisible into Atlantic and Mediterranean-influenced climates, into villages that showcase the mesoclimates, and finally the 1ers and the crus which demonstrate the extraordinary personality of vineyards and their specific microclimates.
Our latest shipment sees the return of the Villanueva, D.O.P Cebreros in the Valle del Alto Alberche, (the village being Villanueva de Ăvila) comes from three plots La Cañada, Las Herguijuela & El Robledillo of varying orientation. This is the smallest production of all the village wines with just over 2,700 bottles made. The altitude is 1,000m, and the vines are also 60-years-old plus. Harvest takes place a week or so earlier than Navatalgordo.
The wine is made in exactly the same way, each plot fermented separately, non-extractive methods used and ageing here being 10 months of 20 hl foudres as well as some demijohns.
The Villaneuva soil characteristics are granite with silt which provides the length, finesse and elegance to the wine. This is where the Tumba del Rey vineyard is located, arguably the most ethereal of the Comando G Garnachas.
La Breña is a relatively recent addition to Comando Gâs portfolio.  The vineyard was purchased in 2016. Located at altitude of 1,100 metres on a single plot of 0.3 ha in the Alto Alberche valley of the Gredos mountains, adjacent to Rumbo al Norte, with shallow granite & sandstone soil. The average age of these vines is 40 years-old. The vineyardâs north orientation maintains lower temperatures and assures very long maturation cycle and great acidity. Since the 2018 vintage, the viticulture is 100% biodynamic. Ageing in wooden foudre for 14 months. The wine is aromatic and combines Mediterranean touches of aromatic herbs with cooler aspects of spice and cold granite soils.
And a new 1er!
2022 Comando G Peña La Mora 1er. The vineyard for Peña La Mora 1er cru is in the village of Navatalgordo in the appellation of Cebreros in the Sierra de Gredos. The vines are at high altitude (over 1,000m above sea level) with an average age of 75 years and are planted on granitic and sandy soils with a high quartz content which imbues the wines with their freshness and minerality.
The wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts and whole bunches for two months in oak vats without pumping or extractive techniques before being transferred to large French oak barrels and concrete vats for 16 months.
A vibrant, slightly glossy expression from Comando G full of grapefruit, minerals and berries with an engaging pepper note. Darker in color than most of the Comando Gâs crus, itâs more comparable with the red El Tamboril. There seems to be a tad more plushness, fleshiness and polish, with minerally, reactive tannins and a chalky, juicy finish. Pure, racy and long. Drink or hold. 96/100 â JamesSucking.com
Now to the crus:
El Reventón comes from the village of Cebreros at an altitude of 950m on a south/south-easterly vineyard plot, planted in 1943.  While sandy granite soils with varying amounts of quartz and clay are the norm in the Sierra de Gredos, there are some vineyards on schist and slate soils as well. El Reventón is planted on just such a rare outcropping of slate. This produces wildly aromatic, darker, richer wines with a firmer structure. The wine undergoes around 16-months of barrel-ageing; it feels more Mediterranean in style.
El Tamboril Tinto, from Vilanueva, made its debut with the 2016 vintage and hails from a 0.2 ha north-facing vineyard at 1230m on granitic sand. Due to the altitude and aspect the fruit is usually harvested well into October, but the wineâs alcohol is always very moderate. It undergoes the usual long maceration followed by 14 months in large French foudre. The wine has a floral nose, almost Burgundian in style â sweet red fruit, earthy, herbal. Super savoury, very fresh and delicate.
When one thinks of Comando G wines, one thinks of the nuances of Gredos terroir that have been so adeptly captured and expressed. The winemaking does everything to take a back seat and allow the soils, the altitude, aspect, and vintage speak for themselves. I love the colour of the wines; they possess a delicate shiny turbidity to coin an oxymoron. The fruit is always at the red end of the spectrum, bright, bouncy, high-toned and often ethereal. The wines from the more Mediterranean-influenced part of the region or on soils which have schist or slate or red iron mix, have an earthier quality. It is a cliché to describe wines as Burgundian or Pinot-esque, but in a certain respect this has become shorthand for wines that embody a quality of transparency of, and respect for, terroir, wines that are not muddled by oak or super-technical impositions, that originate from artisan methods and an artisan mentality, that are pure and reflective, that have in their lightness a quality of profundity.
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Interested in finding out more about the wines of Comando G? Contact us directly:
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