A short drive from Madrid among the craggy granite peaks of the Sierra de Gredos, Fernando García and Daniel Gómez Jiménez-Landi are making some of the most exciting garnacha in the world today. Their wines are bottled under the name Comando G and come from a number of old-vine, high-altitude vineyards nestled among rockfalls and stone amphitheaters that Fernando and Daniel uncovered mostly by drinking beer in the local taverns and listening to the stories of the farmers. They are known in many taverns as the encholados or “crazy oenologists.” The farmers have been keeping alive the ancient-vine garnachas through a pure devotion though for many years there work wasn’t particularly remunerative. Many are glad to have caring hands to pass the vineyards on to. Comando G farms biodynamically but they adapt their practices to each vineyard, usually inspired by the way the vineyards were cared for by the old hands who preceded them. The winemakers take stylistic inspiration from the most famous grenache in the world, Château Rayas, renowned for wines of astonishing power, delicacy, and grace.

Camino del Pilar comes from a vineyard of Albillo planted near the village of Cadalso de los Vidrios. This wine takes its inspiration from Jerez and the Jura. Dani and Fernando feel that Albillo is a perfect grape for biological aging. The grapes are carefully allowed to build a natural flor and the interaction of the grapes and the flor creates a linear, mineral and spicy expression of Albillo. They have a special room in their winery that allows them to control the flor process precisely and this wine shows it in the balance of its freshness with the golden nutty living quality imparted by the flor. The Albillo ferments in stainless steel before it transfers to a 1,000 liter sherry tonneau and a 600 liter Manzanilla cask where it spends one year under a veil of flor. This wine has a subtle smokiness and lovely roasted marcona almonds met to delicate yellow lemon peel and that like golden lit saltiness from careful oxidation and flor. A beautiful, unique white.