The amigos creating a new Spanish style

The met in college in Madrid and now they’re changing the image of Spanish wines

DRESSED IN JEANS and T-shirts, Fernando García and Daniel Gómez Jiménez-Landi look more like computer nerds than successful winemakers. Yet today, they (and a third colleague, Marc Isart) are amongst the hottest wine producers in Spain. In a very short period and without huge funds, they have succeeded in the highly competitive top-end of winemaking, a business increasingly dominated by wealthy businessmen and corporations. “Three years ago,” says Fernando, “everyone thought we were mad university students. Now they are beginning to understand.” The trio met in 2005 while studying winemaking at Madrid University. On graduation, they each headed their separate ways to gain experience, but returned a year or two later to head up their own wineries.

In addition, they formed a collaborative effort, Comando G, named after a childhood comic-book hero. “We share everything, every idea,” says Daniel; “the only difference is the terroir, the people and the ‘final touch’ of the winemaker.”

I spent two days in the company of Fernando and Daniel, (the third, Marc Isart makes Bernabeleva, not currently available in Ireland), and found them to be relaxed and modest, but full of passion and determination. Their wines are exceptional and unusual; you rarely find wines of such elegance and expression in Spain. They have received rave reviews and sell out on release, despite fairly steep prices.

Their vineyards are in the barren hills south of Madrid, where vines have been grown for centuries, alongside almond, fig and pine trees, but which until recently produced only the most basic wine. The three were intrigued by the patchwork of old vineyards high up on the hillsides. Many had been abandoned as unworkable, or belonged to small farmers without any winemaking knowledge or facilities. However, on these cooler upper slopes, they believed that the ancient, low-yielding Garnacha vines planted in varying soils of granite, limestone, clay and sand, could make wines that were very different from the big, gutsy wines made in other parts of Spain.

The climate here is very cold in winter, and it rains a lot in spring. The summer days are hot, but with cold nights, leading to a longer ripening period. The wind also has a cooling effect.

The three winemakers bought or rented vines scattered around the region, and make single vineyard wines that reflect the soils. “At the moment, we can pick and choose what we want.” I suspect that will change in the future as others see the light. Garnacha (known as Grenache elsewhere) is seen as producing big, alcoholic monsters, low in acidity and tannin. This is certainly true in much of Spain. But the trio make an entirely different style of wine. “For us it is one of the most elegant wines, like Pinot Noir in Burgundy. We see wine as an expression of the soil,” says Fernando. “You need to pick early and handle the grapes very gently. Many of the locals are afraid to work with anything that is not ripe and fruity.”

Their wines are still 14.5 per cent, a requirement for ripe Grenache, but lower than most other wines. I found them to be a revelation, with fantastic freshness and piquancy, allied to subtle but concentrated fruit. I suspect they will age well, but as Fernando says, they cannot be sure. “We were the first here. We are learning as we go; we have no references because nobody went before us, so we make it up as we go.”

“Spain,” says Daniel, “lost its way with wines. We had years of over-extracted, oaky, jammy wines. That is not our style. We are part of a new wave, people who don’t like new oak, and big extracted wines – and we are slowly taking hold, but it will take time.”

Fernando runs Bodegas Marañones with 20 hectares of old vines, farmed biodynamically, in Madrid. Daniel is winemaker at Bodegas Jimenez-Landi, owned jointly with his cousin, in Méntrida. Both make tiny quantities of single-vineyard wines that retail at up to €80 a bottle. They started Comando G in 2008, just to make wines for their friends. “Now,” says Fernando, “we are much bigger.”

Treinta Mil Maravedíes, Bodega Marañones, DO Madrid 2010 14.5% €182010 was the best vintage so far for Maranones. Made from 80 per cent Garnacha, 10 per cent Syrah and 10 per cent Moranillo, a Catalan grape, this is a delicious wine. It has fragrant aromas of fresh strawberries and flowers, and an elegant complex palate of redcurrants and crushed fruits. The finish is long and dry.

Stockists: 64wine, Glasthule; Sweeney’s, Glasnevin; The Wine Boutique, Ringsend; Red Island Wine, Skerries; Lilac Wines, D3; Liston’s, Camden St; Baggot Street Wines; Black Pig, Donnybrook; Ennis’s, South Circular Road; The Hole in the Wall, D7; The Wicklow Wine Co.

Picarana, Bodega Marañones, DO Madrid 2010 14.5% €20A white wine made from four plots of Albillo, a local grape variety. This is a fascinating and unusual wine with a herbal nose, a full, rich-textured palate with subtle orange fruits, and excellent mineral acidity.

Stockists: As before.

Sotorrondero Bodega Jiménez-Landi DO Méntrida 2010 14.5% €22Made from a blend of Garnacha and Syrah, this is light in colour, with nicely defined damson and strawberry fruits, as well as liquorice; some dry tannins, but smooth and refined. A very nicely crafted wine.

Stockists: Lilac Wines, D3; 64wine, Glasthule; Sweeney’s, Glasnevin; Red Island Wines, Skerries; The Wicklow Wine Co; Black Pig, Donnybrook; Fallon Byrne, Exchequer St.

Pielagos Bodega Jiménez-Landi 2009 14.5% €30A biodynamic wine made from 40- to 70-year-old Garnacha vines, planted on sandy granite soils. It has wonderful pure, linear strawberry and summer fruits, with a strong mineral streak giving it a very attractive freshness. Savour slowly with roast meats.

Stockists: As before.