Gorgeous Garnachas from the Gredos: Bernabeleva, Rubén Díaz, Orly Lumbreras, Daniel Ramos, and Comando G
3/26/18 -
The massive Sierra de Gredos mountain range is home to one of the highest peaks on mainland Spain, and a tiny community of talented winemakers on a quest toward the pinnacle of Grenache.
Although they are a short drive west from Madrid, the Gredos mountains are among the most remote- and wild-feeling winegrowing zones in Spain. Blessed with an abundance of perfectly adapted, old-vine Garnacha (Grenache) planted on decomposed granite (with sections of schist and slate) at altitudes of up to 1200+ meters, the Gredos offers a crash course in terroir expression through some of the most complex, perfumed, intense yet beautifully proportioned Grenache wines in the world. Garnachas from the Gredos have a habit of humbling Southern Rhône Grenache. Their impressive acidity, electric fuschia hue, gripping tannins, shimmering fruit, deep minerality, and potential for elegance and aging defy conventional wisdom about the Grenache grape. Garnachas from the Gredos seem to fire on all cylinders.
Little by little, the Gredos are getting their due. The international acclaim awarded to Comando G, the project of indefatiguable vignerons Fernando García and Daniel Gómez Jiménez-Landi, is well deserved and sure to shine a light on other bright stars of the region as well. We are proud to maintain a large selection of Gredos wines here at Chambers Street Wines. The hope is to demonstrate the astonishing depth and range of the region at large, evidenced by the magnetic personality of each bottle of wine. No two villages, producers, or wines are alike in the Gredos, providing a playground of sorts for lovers of Grenache (and, perhaps, a laboratory for its skeptics). It is worth noting that the Sierra de Gredos winegrowing area spans three provinces and multiple appellations. For ease of searchability, but also for specificity, we catalog our Gredos wines (for now) under the general heading "Sierra de Gredos" followed by the village name.
We have received just a little bit of Comando G's lithe and brooding Tumba del Rey Moro. This is Garnacha from a precipitous half-hectare cliffside of own-rooted vines at 1100 meters, in the austere Alto Alberche zone of the Gredos. There's more good news: Bernabeleva is back! We're happy to have a new vintage of the fresh and fragrant Camino de Navaherreros (always one of our favorite values) and the impressive Viña Bonita Garnacha, from a single vineyard of 80-year-old vines at 700 meters altitude.
Our friend Rubén Díaz continues to make sensational wines in Cebreros, the mountain village where a streak of schist and slate cuts through the granite, creating diverse iterations of terroirs and myriad expressions of Garnacha. Rubén's 2014 Cuesta del Tejar has been flying off of the Spanish shelf this year and we encourage everyone to give it a try.
Read on for more inspired Garnachas from Orly Lumbreras and Daniel Ramos, as well as some rare and fabulous Gredos white wines made of Chasselas and Albillo Real. Cheers!
-Ariana Rolich
