There are always these stories about old vineyards and how they can change the lives of people in love with wine. This is what happened to the two great winemaking talents Fernando Garcia and Dani Landi, the latter of whom had even learned his trade from none other than winemaking icon Telmo Rodriguez. When they discovered old and almost wildly rampant vineyards in a remote and sparsely populated corner of the Sierra de Gredos in the highlands of Madrid, they were hooked. The wine in this area of Spain, where at best a few skiers stray in winter, played no role in the country. But these old vineyards, still planted in the traditional bush vine cultivation method with their gnarled vines, some of which are up to 100 years old, exerted a magical pull on the two winemakers. The yields from these vines are tiny, but with the right treatment and because they are rooted up to 10 meters into the ground, they can produce an extremely expressive wine that is incomparable in terms of its original and authentic characteristics. This is exactly what the two oenologists saw, and so they founded the "Commando G" winery, the "Commando Garnacha", because this grape variety grows here in the parcels 800 to 1,000 meters above sea level. Moreover, it is not a commonplace clone, but a very special one that grows here almost on bare granite, sand or slate soils. And it produces an astonishingly light-coloured wine with a deep expression and an almost demanding minerality. The two were guided by locals to the best and most interesting Garnacha vineyards, which they now cultivate biodynamically. Fermentation takes place in open wooden vats. The wines are allowed to mature either in 500 litre barrels or in amphorae. Commando G's wine style is excitingly new, unique and incomparable. The Wine Advocate, for example, speaks of one of Spain's most exciting projects, which has made Fernando Garcia and Dani Landi themselves the most important winemakers on the Iberian peninsula. And the high marks awarded by the critics speak for themselves.
