Comando G: rediscovering the Garnacha grape

04/04/2012

• anterior
• siguiente

The members of Comando G are three young oenologists and viticulturists who carved out their ‘official’ careers in prestigious bodegas. Fernando García (Bodegas Marañones), Daniel G. Jiménez Landi (Bodegas Jiménez Landi) and Marc Isart (Bodegas Bernaveleva) met in 2005 while at university where they forged their friendship based on a mutual passion: making first-rate Garnacha wines, which capture and express the terroir of the unique plots where the grapes are grown. Three years later, in 2008, they launched the Comando G (G for Garnacha) business venture.

Although there are some who affectionately call them the ‘enochalados’ (‘crazy oenologists’), in reality, this 'online cooperative bodega' (as described by El Mundo Vino) is carrying out the very serious task of searching for old-vine vineyards planted with the Garnacha grape variety in the Sierra de Gredos, located between the provinces of Madrid and Ávila. And the truth is that their work represents an authentic breath of fresh air, both in the winemaking process — extracting the personality from each individual plot — and in marketing, by naming and ‘dressing’ their wines in a very unique way. In a short space of time, and with very little financial investment, Comando G has been able to place its products in the top-of-the-range market share, a sector usually dominated exclusively by major winemaking groups. Fernando García, with understandable pride, stated that “three years ago, many people thought that we were just some crazy university graduates. But now it seems they’re finally beginning to understand”.

Garnacha is one of the most widely planted grape varieties in Spain, and is regarded as the most important strain in many appellations. This typically high-yielding, high-alcohol content variety has been traditionally associated with vigorous wines, and as such its production as a single-varietal is not very widespread. However, the work carried out by Comando G and other winemakers to recover the Castilian Garnacha grape has uncovered huge potential for the creation of some very unique premium wines. For some experts, this variety is perhaps the best native grape from central Spain, and boasts hidden potential which until recently was recognised by very few people.