2018 Comando G Viticultores, La Bruja de Rozas, Vino de Pueblo, Valle del Tietar, Sierra de Gredos, Vinos de Madrid D.O., Spain.
Every year these Comando G wines seem to get better and better, this is true especially with this 2018 La Bruja de Rozas, their base cuvee, which is absolutely delicious with Burgundy like class, in fact with its slight reduction and light graphite notes at the start reminds me of a Premier Cru Nuits-Saint-Georges, but with dark Grenache purity. Comando G, celebrating 10 years with this 2018 vintage, is a small winery in the Sierra de Gredos, this special terroir in the mountains above Madrid in Castilla y Leon, central Spain, making hand crafted wines, it is led by the talented duo of Daniel Landi and Fernando Garcia, who have been friends since their school days and they formed Camando G in 2008, after always wanting to work together, even though they had successful careers with their own wine concerns, Bodegas Jimenez-Landi and Fernando at Bodega Marañones. As widely noted, and reported here, the Sierra de Gredos is a Garnacha region that rivals the world’s great sites for this grape, these wines show high elevation elegance and detail, but with old vine concentration and amazing aromatics as well as length. This beautifully made La Bruja de Rozas Vino de Pueblo, 100% Garnacha, is sourced from several vineyards ranging between 50 to 80 years old in the vicinity of Las Rozas de Puerto Real, all high elevation sites above 850 meters above sea level and set on sandy granite soils.
This 2018 version is as mentioned very dark and starts with earthy intensity before opening gracefully into a generous Garnacha that really turns up the charms with a gorgeous layering of black raspberry, plum, pomegranate and cherry fruit along with wild herbs, delicate floral notes, mineral and snappy spices. Air time brings out there best and allows the La Bruja de Rozas to become wonderfully textural and extends the length, it slowly unveils its true personality and gains loads of depth and bringing up to the quality level of Comando G’s single Cru offerings almost! These Sierra de Gredos wines cooled by the mountain air and chilly nights are sublimely balanced wines that show a unique sense of place, which Landi and Garcia are trying to, which great success, showcase in ultra transparent detail. Using organic grapes, farmed with biodynamic methods, Comando G’s Rozas, the Village wine, was all hand harvested, with Dani and Fernando employing a natural yeast fermentation with partial whole cluster (depending on vintage) and a long maceration, that as they note, was followed by nine months in large 30-60HL oak vats to mature. The 2018 La Bruja de Rozas, which has at least a decade of serious quality life ahead of it, gains more on more in the glass revealing its inner perfume and its tannin structure turns silky, all the while retaining its presence on the palate and is nicely lifted by its natural acidity making it wonderful with cuisine and a fine companion for an evening of drinking pleasure!
($28 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive