Comando G - Tumba del Rey Moro 2021

A short distance away from Madrid, the rugged, weathered peaks of the Sierra de Gredos serve as a refreshingly cool retreat from the heat and bustle of the capital. Ancient hilltop towns and cottages dot the tortured landscape of alpine meadows, tumbled boulders, and thick scrub brush. Clustered around this rugged range are several DOs, most notably Mentrida and Viños de Madrid, best known for producing reliably inexpensive and simple country wines to slake the capital’s thirst. But viticulture in Spain is ancient and tenacious, so the adventurous can also find scattered vineyards situated in the most inaccessible places, including rockfalls and natural amphitheaters high up in the most remote parts of the backcountry. Daniel Landi and Fernando Garcia, friends since college, found themselves working in the area centered around the Sierra de Gredos: Daniel at his family’s estate, Bodegas Jimenez-Landi, and Fernando at Bodega Marañones. Drawn to the mountains and rumors of small, nearly inaccessible vineyard plots located high in the Sierra de Gredos, over time, they began purchasing and leasing the best sites they could find, creating their own project, Comando G in 2008. Along with the pioneers of the Priorat, Daniel and Fernando are redefining what was previously viewed as a workhorse variety, Garnacha, into something that can rival the elegance and finesse of Pinot in Burgundy or Syrah in the northern Rhône.

The vineyards that Daniel and Fernando have assembled are all farmed biodynamically. These vines range from 50 to 80 years old and are planted on sandy soils weathered from granite, slate, and quartz. A combination of high altitude, freely draining soils, and a mild and fairly humid micro-climate – for central Spain – guarantees a long growing season and a modest alcohol level in the finished wines. The resultant wines are startlingly pale, extraordinarily aromatic, and intensely flavorful. Each site is harvested by hand, usually in October, fermented by indigenous yeasts in open-top French oak casks, then aged in a combination of 500-700L French oak barrels, foudre, and clay amphorae.

Tumba del Rey Moro is an absurd vineyard resembling an ancient landslide with several small natural terraces irregularly planted with vines. Until a few years ago, the site was nearly inaccessible and overgrown with scrub brush. When Dani and Fer heard rumor of this plot, they spent several months trying to locate it and clear a path so they could farm it. Here you can find similar granitic sands as in their other sites but with pinker-hued granite and more quartz. Like its siblings, it is pale in color but tasting it makes you wonder if this is what Marcel Lapierre could have done at Château Rayas had he the chance.

"So ethereal, scented and precise on the nose with huge complexity, but everything remains soft-spoken and quiet. Wet stones, white pepper, tile, and mineral. A little less round and loud than 2020, but this is super nuanced and refined, showing more linearity with chalky tannins. Lovely austerity here, completely stripped down. Ungrafted, north-facing vineyard. Drink or hold." - 100 points, James Suckling

"The pale, delicate and ethereal 2021 Tumba del Rey Moro feels more austere than any other vintage of this single-vineyard wine. It comes from vines at 1,100 meters above sea level on granite soils in the village of Villanueva de Ávila and has a notable absence of fruit. Instead, it's mineral and floral, with subtle herbal notes ("piparra" peppers again!). It was harvested around the 12th of October, and by that time, the grapes had had a full development of aromas and flavors. The wine finished with 14% alcohol but with gobsmacking balance and freshness. The alcohol is not noticeable, a constant across the portfolio. The nose was shy at first and took time to develop, but when it did, it was layered and complex, with more Burgundian floral notes. The palate is super austere with lots of energy, reminiscent of liquid granite, with grip and light. It's a sharp vintage of Tumba del Rey Moro. 1,712 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2023." - 99 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Producer: Comando G

Country: Spain

Region: Castilla y León

Varietal: Garnacha

Appellation: Tierra de Castilla y León

Vintage: 2021

Size: 750ml