Comando G, Sierra de Gredos, Las Iruelas, Tinto 2021 - 75cl

Comando G is the project that rewrote what people expected of Spanish Garnacha. Fernando Garcia and Dani Landi went looking for old, high-altitude vines in the Sierra de Gredos, west of Madrid, and made wines so pale and perfumed that comparisons to the Northern Rhone and even Burgundy stopped sounding like hyperbole. Las Iruelas comes from a steep, narrow valley above the village of El Tiemblo in Avila, where the vines sit around 1,000 metres on slate soils with northern exposures. Cool nights and poor rock give a Garnacha built on lift and detail rather than weight.

The 2021 is light ruby in the glass and immediately floral, dried roses and sweet spice over strawberry and raspberry fruit. What sets Iruelas apart is its savoury streak: white pepper, a resinous, almost pine-like note and a delineated mineral spine that runs the length of the palate. It is medium-bodied at most, with creamy, ultra-fine tannins, bright acidity and a long, red-fruited finish. Delicate is the word, but there is real persistence underneath. Lovely now, it will reward five to eight years in the cellar.

How to Serve

Serve cool, 14-15C, in a Burgundy glass. Skip the decanter; this is a wine that rewards watching it open slowly in the glass.

Where to Drink It

Noble Rot, Soho - a list that lives for cult Gredos Garnacha.
Planque, Haggerston - for drinkers who chase the rare and the fine.
Brat, Shoreditch - the open fire suits its perfumed, savoury side.

Food Pairings

I would pour it with roast duck breast, the wine's white-pepper lift cutting cleanly through the fat.