Dominio de Pingus 2019

DOMINIO DE PINGUS 25 VINTAGE th

2019 VINTAGE, EN PRIMEUR EXCLUSIVE TO CORNEY & BARROW IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND HONG KONG

“The most perfect Pingus we have ever made.

It only took 25 years...”

PETER SISSECK, JUNE 2020

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25 YEARS OF PINGUS “When I first tasted this wine in March in London (Corney & Barrow, the renowned London wine merchant has the exclusivity on it for the United Kingdom), I was blown away, but I wanted to taste it several more times just to be sure. I am not kidding when I say this might be the greatest young red wine I have ever tasted from Spain.”

Robert Parker on the debut 1995 vintage, August 1996

The world of wine was a different place in 1996. The world itself was a different place, come to that...

A world of increased globalisation and prosperity. PreTony, Dubya and 9/11. Music was loud. Oak was good.

Robert Parker was the undisputed vinous kingmaker.

Peter Sisseck’s Dominio de Pingus arrived amid this 90s thrum, capturing the zeitgeist perfectly. It was new, bold and endearingly pan-European – a young Danish winemaker, camped out on the doorstep of Vega Sicilia, drawing inspiration from Bordeaux.

In his early 30s at the time, Peter was in charge of nearby Hacienda Monasterio. This ‘day job’ meant he could only work on Pingus at night – in his words, “This was probably a good thing, as otherwise I might have extracted it like crazy.” So Pingus became all about minimum intervention – of necessity at first, later by design.

Since 2000, Peter has been guided increasingly by biodynamics, going full Rudolph Steiner of late with the founding of Granja Alnardo, his local farm producing biodynamic preparations for the estate as well as being home to an extremely healthy-looking herd of ‘Pingus cows’.

2019 is the 25th vintage of Dominio de Pingus (in fact, 2002 was not made, but we’ll celebrate again next year).

The brilliant newcomer is new no more but has displayed a streak of quite astonishing vintages. To name but a few: 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 are wines of the highest calibre.

Without a doubt, 2019 can now be added to that list.

GUY SEDDON July 2020

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“Try to understand the vineyard as a forest. We should all go out and marvel at forests.”

PETER SISSECK, JULY 2020

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The Pingus Vineyard

THE PINGUS VINES Pingus comes from a 4.8 hectare vineyard, planted in 1929, in La Horra, Ribera del Duero.

Its traditional bush vines – freestanding, without trellis wires – are a massal selection from the first generation of post-phylloxera vines in the region. Planted on their original riparia rootstock, they are, in Peter’s words “very basic”. That may be, but as well as being magnificently old, they are extremely well-tended.

Converting Pingus to biodynamics in 2000 was aided by the manageable size of the vineyard and the dry, windswept region’s naturally low disease pressure. Add Peter’s zeal and “fundamentalism” (his word) to the mix and you can see why Pingus has become a beacon in the biodynamic world.

Two hundred to zero Having famously started out with ‘200% new oak’, Pingus has seen no new oak since 2012. Peter links this vanishing oak trend to the increasing warmth of the Ribera del Duero summers. In his words, “The vintage that really made me reflect on oak was 2005, the first of the global warming vintages. 2005 for me was the vintage that changed everything.”

Flor de Pingus Flor comes from 35 hectares, spread out over the whole village. An extension of the Pingus approach, it retains 30% new oak and now has around 10% Garnacha (Grenache).

Peter points out that this “really helps to freshen up the wine”, softening Tempranillo’s more austere tannins and lowering the pH. Flor de Pingus remains one of the outright bargains in the world of wine…

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PSI PSI: P-eter-SI-sseck – and also the Greek letter Ψ, which looks uncannily like a bush vine (see the labels opposite)…

PSI is a love song to the heritage of Ribera del Duero. If this wine didn’t exist, nor would many of the old bush vines from which it is made, whose low yields make them commercially unviable for those who sell grapes in bulk.

By forming partnerships with these growers and paying over market rates, Peter has provided a lifeline, since the inaugural 2007 vintage. PSI is now vinified in its own facility, in large wooden vats.

PSI 2019 IN NUMBERS 8

630 parcels of old bush vines across Ribera del Duero --145 hectares in total, of which 40 are now under Peter’s direct management --21 different villages --0.23 hectares the average parcel size --92% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo), 8% Garnacha (Grenache)

PSI IN PETER’S WORDS “A bit of a logistic nightmare… but we’re getting good at it now!”

“2019 is easily the best PSI we have made to date.

Close to the ideal I had back in 2007.”

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THE 2019 GROWING SEASON A dry, warm vintage, in which deep roots were crucial The 2019 season was marked by a particularly dry winter.

Peter remarked that his garden, which usually retains a green winter cover, was “dry and quite boring”.

Rainfall was below average throughout the season. The cumulative total of 381mm of rain was well below the mean of 436mm. Ribera de Duero receives 89% of its annual rain in winter – as Peter said, “if we don’t get that, it makes it tough… but the vineyards looked good.”

Temperatures, which were relatively cool until mid-July, remained a notch above average during the second half of the season. Peter decided to leave more crop than usual on the vines (although not as much as in 2018), in order to promote an early ripening. The deep vine roots managed to keep the water supply running and it paid off.

Pingus was picked over a week, with activity centred on the 3 or 4 days when conditions were right. Yields were 17% below average. The 35ha of Flor were picked over 10 days, with yields 12% below average.

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TASTING NOTES

PSI

FLOR DE PINGUS

From a patchwork of small old-vine parcels throughout Ribera del Duero. A gorgeous nose of blackberry and dried spices. The palate is juicy and upbeat, the svelte berry fruit enhanced by elegant, silky tannins. Excellent momentum and energy, very promising. This will be ready to go from the moment it arrives. Peter doesn’t mince his words: “easily the best PSI we have made to date.”

92% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo), 8% Garnacha (Grenache).

Vinified in large oak vats.

A strikingly pure nose of red berries, with violet and blueberry perfume. The palate is softly, sweetly fruited, velvety and cushioned, with impressive depth. The tannins are super fine, melt-in-your-mouth, working in tandem with fresh acidity. An extrovert, lavish Flor showing real class and a just the right amount of hedonism. 30% new oak, which is almost imperceptible, adding the merest seasoning to that sweetness of fruit.

90% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo), 10% Garnacha (Grenache).

Corney & Barrow Score 17.5 Recommended drinking from 2021 – 2028

Corney & Barrow Score 18+ Recommended drinking from 2024 – 2034

£189/Case of 12 bottles, in bond UK £110/Case of 3 magnums, in bond UK

£495/Case of 12 bottles, in bond UK £255/Case of 3 magnums, in bond UK

We are also offering a ‘barrel’ of PSI – a fantastic way to ensure you (and friends?) are well stocked with this brilliant wine! This is equivalent to 25 twelve bottle cases and can be taken in your chosen mix of bottles and magnums. £3,975/‘barrel’, in bond UK

Tasting Guide Our tasting notes provide full details but, at your request, we have also introduced a clear and simple marking system. We hope these guidelines assist you in your selection. For the benefit of simplicity, wines are scored out of 20. We will often use a range of scores (e.g. 16.5 to 17) to indicate the potential to achieve a higher mark. When a ‘+’ is shown it adds further to that potential. Wines from lesser vintages will, inevitably, show a lower overall score.

Wines are judged, in a very broad sense, against their peers. Why? Well, you cannot easily compare a Ford with an Aston Martin, other than they are both cars and have wheels. It is not that different with wine. A score is a summary only. The devil is in the detail, so please focus on the tasting notes and, as always, speak to our sales team.

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PINGUS On the nose, Pingus is quieter than Flor at this early stage, but its cut-glass purity of aroma makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. When you take a sip, your hopes are confirmed and you are away, into a different league.

The texture and quality of tannin is simply phenomenal.

Tightly wound and visceral yet so fine, Pingus 2019 is a veritable ball of energy which just needs patience to allow it to mellow and fill out. The rich blackberry fruit comes through on an almost endless finish, enhanced by a frisson of nervy minerality. In Peter’s words, “The most perfect Pingus we have ever made… It only took 25 years!!!” 100% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo).

Corney & Barrow Score 18.5 - 19 Recommended drinking from 2028 – 2038 £1,425/Case of 3 bottles, in bond UK £960/Case of 1 magnum, in bond UK £1,940/Case of 1 double magnum, in bond UK Pingus, as usual, will be allocated on the basis of support of Peter’s wines – please may we have your order by Friday 24th July.

PHOTO CREDIT Chisco de Santiagois for cover photo, page 2, 12 and 14. Carlos Gonzalez Armesto for photo on page 6.

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