I have
to confess: I am kinda afraid of what I am about to do right now! The
facing of personal
fears,
in particular the specific fear towards certain grape varieties, is
one of the most challenging deeds a wine geek can tackle ;-). I’ve
got several fearsome inhibitions! I am scared of off-dry
Pinot Noirs,
those excessively rubber-mawkish
Gamay based
wines, too traditional appearing Dolcetti
and
(unfortunately) of rich
as
well as bluntly expressive
Gewürztraminers.
For sure, there might be other wine oriented aversions. For a start
this is already quite a lot, I suppose. However, not enough! There is
another big 100%
grape anxiety of
mine: Grenache
or
Garnacha (or especially Cannonau)! I know a lot of people like wines
made from this grape. I
like them,
too! However, only as a partner
in
a red
coalition!
In general, pure Grenache is a far too fruitful challenge for my
palate!
Normally! Not today! Today I will face Grenache - or better put,
Garnacha - without a trace of fear or prejudice! Huzzah
...
Comando
(G)arnacha
is a project staged by three friendly oenologists named Fernando
Garcia, Daniel G. Jiménez Landi und Marc Isart. Since 2010 those
three produce several 100% Garnacha wines from hoary vines in Madrid
D.O. All vines are biodynamically cultivated on mostly granite soil
in very elevated (up to 950 m) and isolated vineyards (approx. 3
hectears) in Cadalso de los Vidrios area of Madrid. Comando
G’s
Bruja
Avería 2012 is
the entry level Garnacha of their portfolio. Others Garnachas from
single vineyards like La
Mujer Cañón or
Rumbo
al Norte summit
in concentration, quality and most definitely in price. I hade the
opportunitiy to try all of them. Today, I guess I will be quite
satisfied with the following one …
3:56
pm (popped
and poured)
Colour:
red-violet,
not too tinted, transparency quite fine, the flawless hue goes
straight from core to rim
Nose:
quite
a lot of obtrusive country air inclusive plenty of cowshed perfume,
fresh cut thyme, some emerging liquorice and tons of very clear, ripe
and cool appearing fruit fragrances of bramble, blueberry and extra
kitsch’y figs. Besides that there is a certain undercurrent of
mineral-detergent’istic scents which I cannot really disclose. So
far a rather balanced and still a bit reserved nose which is
far away from any superimposed fruit-smarmy attributes.
Taste:
totally
Garnacha in a mostly positive sense; very cool and fresh
characteristics; the chewing-gum fruit component isn’t that
excessive (luckily) and still in balance, however far more present
than the nose predicted; the lean fruit impact is dominated by
bramble, blueberries and perhaps some cranberries, the fig is far
less evolved and present; thyme, a hint of iodine and some firm
liquorice are far less dominant on the palate; the already mentioned
obtrusive touch of country air is missing completely; pressure and
length of the finish seems fine and pretty immediate; the tannins are
splendidly chewable at the moment and the acid is surprisingly
invigorating; alcohol seems to be very well integrated, too. So far a
very clear, precise, lean, cool, of course very fruitful and totally
typical Garnacha without a lot of anxiety triggering potential.
5:36
pm
Right
now a joint
"analysis" is
absolutely sufficient. Why? Well I think this one isn’t super
suitable for a “Happening Now Tasting”. It is "narcotically"
stable on a relatively decent level without being dull. Actually - no
real change at all. Well, at the moment the nasal cowshed alleviated
to a prosperous and well balanced countryside impression and the
taste of bramble flavours might show a little infusion of raspberry.
I guess the latter one is pure imagination caused by aromatical
gridlock and certainly insufficient palatal abilities on my behalf.
6:59
pm
Still
no substantial change! Apart of its overall stuck character I might
be under the impression that the Bruja Avería 2012 is getting a bit
more serious and less fruit driven and more self-contained. However,
this evo is rather quiet and supposedly highly imaginary. Perhaps it
is really getting a bit’y dull right now.
Let’s
see how this will evolve! More input later or more likely tomorrow! …
Hell,
I just opened another 100% Garnacha. This one is from Rioja (!?!). It
is coated with plenty of oak. Totally different style! I am sure this
one needs time to adjust to my palate. Not sure this will ever be
accomplished …
3:25
pm (on
the next day)
Today
the Bruja
Avería 2012 appears
far more creamy and caramel'y than yesterday. Actually then there
wasn’t a trace of creaminess or caramel at all. Besides this evo it
seems to show a little bit more of superimposed, pretty unnerving and
rather sweet Garnacha fruit (including some kiddy cough syrup spice).
Overall more round, perhaps a bit ponderous, and less fresh / vital
than yesterday. Not the best of all possible turns over night, I
suppose …
Anyway,
due to its first day preciseness, coolness and freshness - for me a
downright decent
**** Garnacha
from Madrid. It wasn’t inspirational, highly complex, challenging
or intoxicating – but it definitely was nice easy drinking without
too many of those typical fearsome (just
for me,
of course) Garnacha issues.
By
the way, the evo of my
second 100 % Garnacha wine,
which I have opened a few hours later, wasn’t that pleasing for me
at all! Unfortunately this one had and has plenty of oak, extreme
fruit of dark berries, excessive sweetness in combination with a
buttload of alcohol and a surprisingly clumsy-sleepy (pretty tried)
structure. Pity - absolutely nothing for my palate … this one was a
Palacios
Remondo Propiedad from
2010.I
think I like La
Montesa from
Palacios
Remondo much
more!
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