Dominio de Pingus
About Dominio de Pingus
Nestled in the La Horra appellation of Ribera del Duero, Dominio de Pingus is an estate par excellence in the region, rising to consistently challenge and often surpass the mighty Vega-Sicilia.
Founded and run by a global fine wine icon, oenologist Peter Sisseck is something of an enigma. Born in Denmark, fate and an unrelenting love for the terroir of Spain’s rugged Ribera del Duero led the masterful vigneron to establish what has become a truly legendary estate in 1995. Rising further into the stratosphere than perhaps even Sisseck anticipated, given the relatively unknown nature of Ribera del Duero at the time (Vega-Sicilia aside of course), Pingus has transcended boundaries and oceans to be considered an equal of the grandest names of Bordeaux, the rarest crus of Burgundy and the smallest cult labels of Napa.
Viniculture
There are currently 3 wines produced by the estate: Flor de Pingus, a single barrel cuvée called Amelia (which began in 2003), and the flagship Pingus. In a normal vintage, there are usually about 4,000 cases of Flor de Pingus, 500 cases of Pingus and just 25 cases of Amelia. The vines are all over 35 years of age and have been farmed biodynamically since 2005.
The first vintage of Pingus was in 1995. The vines producing this fantastic wine are all at least 65 years of age and yields are typically under 1 ton per acre. The wine is 100% Tempranillo and is bottled without fining or filtration.
| Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Castilla y Leon | 1 | 100 (WA) |
Inc. VAT
£7,266.04 |
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Wine Advocate (100)I don't think I've ever tasted a wine more recently bottled than the 2014 Pingus, which was bottled in the morning and I tasted it that very same evening! Peter Sisseck compares this to the 1995, the first vintage ever produced, when he learned that when you have such perfect grapes, you should do very little to the wine. He's been trying to replicate that first vintage, but there's nothing you can do to force it, as it has to be the natural conditions of the vintage that bring those grapes. What he also learned with the 1995 was that with wines like that, you need a long and slow aging in oak; so for the 2014, he decided to do a little longer élevage—three winters in barrel—but in 100% used barrels, something he started in 2012. If it would have been new oak, as in the past, it would have been impossible to have such extended aging without marking the wine too much and possibly forever. The wine was quite tannic to start with, but it was racked every six months, and in that way they have managed to tame those tannins without getting the wine tired, as the aging itself was quite reductive. The nose is quite harmonious and open, but maybe not very expressive, a normal thing considering the extremely short bottle age it had (hours!), but it should gain precision in bottle. In instances like this, you have to guide yourself by the palate. And it's precisely on the palate where you find that texture that is almost unique to Ribera del Duero when it's as perfect as this. It's very different from other zones, a velvety mouthfeel and a surrounding sensation of comfort, incredibly long. The tannins are ultra fine and with that subtle chalkiness of the limestone soils, which also added to the tastiness and the supple aftertaste. In short, I cannot think of a way of improving this Pingus other, than getting a magnum instead of a regular bottle! Congratulations, Peter Sisseck! 4,800 bottles were filled on January 16th of 2017, a slightly shorter production than the average, because part of the vines were hit by hail and didn't make it into the final blend. Now stay tuned for 2015 and 2016. |
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| Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Castilla y Leon | 1 | 100 (WA) |
In Bond
£6,039.00 |
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Wine Advocate (100)I don't think I've ever tasted a wine more recently bottled than the 2014 Pingus, which was bottled in the morning and I tasted it that very same evening! Peter Sisseck compares this to the 1995, the first vintage ever produced, when he learned that when you have such perfect grapes, you should do very little to the wine. He's been trying to replicate that first vintage, but there's nothing you can do to force it, as it has to be the natural conditions of the vintage that bring those grapes. What he also learned with the 1995 was that with wines like that, you need a long and slow aging in oak; so for the 2014, he decided to do a little longer élevage—three winters in barrel—but in 100% used barrels, something he started in 2012. If it would have been new oak, as in the past, it would have been impossible to have such extended aging without marking the wine too much and possibly forever. The wine was quite tannic to start with, but it was racked every six months, and in that way they have managed to tame those tannins without getting the wine tired, as the aging itself was quite reductive. The nose is quite harmonious and open, but maybe not very expressive, a normal thing considering the extremely short bottle age it had (hours!), but it should gain precision in bottle. In instances like this, you have to guide yourself by the palate. And it's precisely on the palate where you find that texture that is almost unique to Ribera del Duero when it's as perfect as this. It's very different from other zones, a velvety mouthfeel and a surrounding sensation of comfort, incredibly long. The tannins are ultra fine and with that subtle chalkiness of the limestone soils, which also added to the tastiness and the supple aftertaste. In short, I cannot think of a way of improving this Pingus other, than getting a magnum instead of a regular bottle! Congratulations, Peter Sisseck! 4,800 bottles were filled on January 16th of 2017, a slightly shorter production than the average, because part of the vines were hit by hail and didn't make it into the final blend. Now stay tuned for 2015 and 2016. |
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