Spanish Icons: Comando G, Rumbo al Norte
The final instalment of the Spanish Icons looks at an up-and-coming label channelling granite through Garnacha in the small region of Gredos.
Comando G, Rumbo al Norte, Cerebros, Gredos
First vintage: 2010
No one can claim to understand the essence of Spanish Garnacha until they’ve tasted Rumbo al Norte (‘Route to the North’).
‘It’s liquid granite,’ says Daniel Landi, one of the founders of Comando G. ‘Rumbo al Norte changed our lives – and the life of Gredos.’
See below for a must-try vintage of Comando G, Rumbo al Norte
Having almost single-handedly put the Gredos region, west of Madrid, on the map, Comando G (profiled in our latest annual Spain guide, November 2024) has built a cult following around the world. Its Garnachas are unanimously considered to be among the most refined and terroir-expressive iterations of the variety.
The duo’s authenticity, down-to-earth geekiness and effortless cool, along with their technical abilities, met the demand of a younger generation of collectors who were looking beyond the classics. Their top wines, and Rumbo al Norte in particular, have since carved their own firm place in the fine wine market.
When Landi and his partner in crime Fernando García came upon Rumbo al Norte, the tiny, 0.3ha, north-facing plot was at risk of being uprooted. It’s an extreme site, sitting at 1,075m in the village of Villanueva de Avila, where gnarled Garnacha vines, planted in 1950, are cradled by huge granite boulders, some so closely positioned that not even a horse can pass between them.
The prescience of García and Landi, recognising the potential of this challenging site, reflects the determination and vision that has informed Comando G from its humble beginnings.
Rumbo al Norte sits atop Comando G’s Burgundy style quality pyramid, not only as its flagship single vineyard wine but also as the plot that best captures the essence of Gredos, of its granite soils and the Garnachas they produce.
Such a small area of low-yielding vines (struggling to produce a mere 1,500kg/ha) necessarily produces a very limited number of bottles each year, which are quickly snapped up by collectors and perform increasingly well in secondary markets.
Rumbo al Norte’s greatest relevance, however, is how it distils the essence of Comando G’s passion and philosophy, which in turn have empowered a new generation of like-minded producers and broadened the scope and audience of Spanish fine-wine drinking.
‘Rumbo al Norte is a child of nonconfirmity. It’s the wine that – like the North Star guides seamen – guided us,’ concludes Landi. As it has guided me, and many other admirers of Comando G’s wines, on a rediscovery of Spanish Garnacha
The wine to try before you die
Comando G, Rumbo al Norte, Cebreros, Gredos, 2021 – 98pts
POA £ (2022) Burnett & Herbert, Les Caves de Pyrene US$750 VinoNueva
100% Garnacha; bottled in April 2023 after ageing in a mix of 500L-700L French oak casks and amphorae.
Incredible focus and precision in this light-hued wine, with filigree aromatics and a detailed nose of crushed rose petals, pomegranate and cranberry. In the mouth, the ripe red fruit is sprinkled with white pepper and drenched in blood orange juice – all held firmly by mineral, soft yet chiselled tannins. Long tail of sour cherry and amaretto.
Drink: 2025-2050 Alcohol: 14.5%
Spanish Icons: Comando G, Rumbo al Norte
Related articles
- Spanish Icons: Muga, Prado Enea Gran Reserva
- Spanish Icons: Marqués de Murrieta, Castillo Ygay Blanco
- Spanish Icons: Alvaro Palacios, L’Ermita
Comando G, Rumbo al Norte, Cebreros, Gredos, Spain, 2021
Incredible focus and precision in this light-hued Garnacha – Comando G's flagship – with filigree aromatics and a detailed nose of crushed rose petals, pomegranate...
2021
Comando GCebreros
