Dominio de Pingus

It may be the #5 Wine but 100pt Pingus Winemaker Delivers the Ribera Steal of the Year: The 2016 Pingus PSI

There is no other wine in the world, let alone Spain, that is quite like Pingus. Danish Winemaker Peter Sisseck, is the genius behind one of Spain´s most cult and expensive wines “Pingus” . The Pinugs wines, have become icons in the Spanish wine world, with Dominio de Pingus arguably the most expensive, high-demand wine produced in Spain and a 100-pointer again in 2014! Nowadays, Peter Sisseck is a star and his wines are priced to match. But that doesn’t mean he’s isn’t still in the ‘value’ game when it comes to premium Ribera del Duero wines.

So, PSI was born. Thanks to Peter the old vineyards are being rescued from the chemical companies and producing healthier grapes, which he purchases from the growers themselves who he’s already assisting in the vineyard.  The process of rehabilitating the Ribera del Duero has resulted in some pretty kick-butt wine.  And it just gets better every year! Peter calls the 2016 ‘the wine he always dreamed of making“.  And, boy, after tasting the 2016 PSI all we can say is Peter better be careful because this wine is knocking on Flor de Pingus’ door at less than half the price! You need a few bottles (or more) of this delicious, under-priced labor of love from one of the world’s finest winemakers.

HOW PINGUS TOOK ON THE COUNTERFEITERS

Following the news that Spanish police have dismantled a counterfeiting ring, it has been revealed that the bust was the result of a year-long investigation by the owner of Pingus, Peter Sisseck.

Earlier this month Spain’s Civil Guard arrested four men and charged a further four with a range of charges including fraud and money laundering.

The gang was centred on a restaurant in the city of La Coruña in Galicia and had been operating since about 2014, counterfeiting fine wines from Pingus and Vega Sicilia, taking wines costing €19 a bottle and then repackaging them in order to sell them on for as much as €1,900 apiece.

The police were alerted to the case when Pingus raised the alarm but speaking to the drinks business, Peter Sisseck revealed that he had spent a year beforehand gathering evidence to present to the authorities.

He explained that it all began when a client of his Danish importer said he’d acquired a bottle in Belgium that he thought was fake.

Sisseck agreed it was “dodgy” and after a bit of digging traced it to a restaurant in La Coruña.

This on its own might have been little more than a one-off mistake but Sisseck then added he remembered the previous year his cork supplier had called him to query an order of Pingus-marked corks that had been placed by a restaurant in – La Coruña.

“I thought that was interesting,” said Sisseck who probed further with the help of a private investigator.

He continued: “For more than a year had our own investigation to get to the bottom of it. Built a case and gathered all the evidence then went to police and a judge.”

The police then began their own investigation and found the network spread to Madrid and Malaga as well in a fraud that was worth in excess of €1 million.

Sisseck added he had been keen to gather evidence himself because his fear was that by simply reporting it, it would not be treated with much seriousness or urgency.

When presented with a body of evidence to work with however, “they realised there was something to it.”

Furthermore, having been able to dismantle a serious counterfeiting operation Sisseck hoped that it, “might help in future make the police understand it’s a serious case.”

He added that this was the biggest fraud case involving Pingus he had come across so far although there had been small scale counterfeiting in the past that he had managed to halt.

It was a matter he said he was well aware of and remained vigilant of.

‘We do all we can in order to avoid it. We’re always aware if funny stuff is sold somewhere. Most of these wines are sold through dodgy ways, especially private sales and so on so it’s quite difficult to get access to it.

“We have released a statement advising people not to buy from places they don’t know.”

Dominio de Pingus was established in 1995 by Danish winemaker Peter Sisseck. It is situated in the La Horra area of the Ribera del Duero region. The wine produced, Pingus, is considered a "cult wine", sold at extremely high prices while remaining very inaccessible.

Pingus is produced by the visionary Danish winemaker Peter Sisseck. Peter arrived in Spain in 1993 to manage a new project, Hacienda Monasterio. While planting and developing Monasterio, he began to dream about the old vines he saw dotted around the Ribera del Duero landscape. By the 1995 vintage, Peter had found a group of old vines that spurred him to embark on his own project. He called it “Pingus,” after his childhood nickname.  One can only imagine what the reactions were like when Peter showed up in Bordeaux at the March 1996 en primeur tastings. Yet, by the end of the week, Pingus was perhaps the greatest story of that season’s futures campaign. Robert Parker announced the wine on the back cover of his Wine Advocate, bestowing an unheard of 96-100 point score. The world took notice, and Pingus was on its way.

From the beginning, Peter’s vision was to push Tempranillo to its upper limits. He spent the first few years pruning his vines back to a healthy balance—the trunks were straightened, lowered, and canes were pruned back to 1-2 buds per stump. Yields have typically been under one ton per acre. Pingus is fermented in large wooden vats and, once in cask, is mostly left alone. It is largely raised in new barriques, though the flavors of the oak vanish into the enormous concentration. Pingus is indeed a wine that is magical in the way that it balances otherworldly richness with a rare sense of elegance. Peter’s winery work has been widely imitated, and many wines can mimic the exotic textures that Pingus possesses. Yet, while they might approach Pingus’ style, none of these newcomers has the substance that defines Pingus. Over the past decade, Peter has continually refined his original vision. Since 2001, he has employed biodynamic viticulture to capture a healthier balance in his vineyards. In the winery, he has made subtle changes aimed at taming the region’s natural power, and giving more delineation and depth to the Pingus voice.

Planted with very old vines of Tinto Fino, i.e. Tempranillo, the vineyards are 2.5 hectares (6.2 acres) in Barrosso with vines exceeding 65 years and 1.5 hectares (3.7 acres) in San Cristobal with vines older than 70 years, and the unusually low average yield of 12 hL per hectare. Since 2000, the viticulture has been biodynamic. Of the annual production of Pingus there is typically less than 500 cases, though in poor vintages no Pingus is made.

The production of the second wine Flor de Pingus, also 100% Tempranillo, is made with fruit from rented vineyards in the La Horra zone, with vines older than 35 years. Since the 2005 vintage, the viticulture has been biodynamic. The annual production is on average 4,000 cases.

Additionally there has been the single barrel cuvée, Ribera del Duero "Amelia", made from a vineyard parcel of 100+ year old vines with an average yield of 10 hL per hectare, with biodynamic viticulture since its initial 2003 vintage. The 2005 vintage had a production of 25 cases.

"PSI" is a joint project based on fruit produced by local grape growers from old tempranillo vines. The goal is to help grape producers and save old vines. Project was founded in 2006, first vintage was 2007. Grape growers are encouraged to employ biodynamic or organic vineyard management practices. The wine is made by Peter Sisseck and Pablo Rubio and sold under producer name Bodegas y Viñedos Alnardo. Vinification takes place in large concrete vats and aging in concrete and wooden tanks and oak barrels. Production of PSI 2009 was 9,600 cases, PSI 2010 was 16,600 cases.

Pingus is fermented in large wooden vats and, once in cask, is mostly left alone. It is largely raised in new barriques, though the flavors of the oak vanish into the enormous concentration. Pingus is indeed a wine that is magical in the way that it balances otherworldly richness with a rare sense of elegance.

Peter's winery work has been widely imitated, and many wines can mimic the exotic textures that Pingus possesses. Yet, while they might approach Pingus' style, none of these newcomers has the substance that defines Pingus.

Over the past decade, Peter has continually refined his original vision. Since 2001, he has employed biodynamic viticulture to capture a healthier balance in his vineyards. In the winery, he has made subtle, but important, changes aimed at taming the region's natural power, and giving more delineation and depth to the Pingus voice.

Founded only in 1985 by Peter Sisseck, Dominio de Pingus is now one of the most iconic and sought after wineries in the world. It’s flagship wine, having the same name of Dominio de Pingus, commands an extremely high price and is the only Spanish wine that can challenge Vega Sicilia in price. Flor de Pingus is essentially a second wine of the Dominio de Pingus. PSI is a separate project started by Dominio de Pingus. PSI allows people to try wines from Dominio de Pingus at considerably less. 

As one of the most famous cult world in the world, demand for Dominio de Pingus always far exceeds its supply. For this reason, Peter Sisseck decided to start a new project, namely PSI. Peter always believes in the potential of Ribera del Duero as a wine-producing region. Unfortunately, historically growers are paid by quantity instead of quality. This resulted in over-production and heavy use of chemicals. With the aim to improve the viticulture practices in Ribera del Duero, Peter works with local growers by giving them advices, esp. encouraging them to move to organic and biodynamic viticulture. In return, Peter Sisseck would buy their grapes at a premium price that is about three or four times than the average rate of grapes in Ribera del Duero. 

With the healthy grapes and the exceptional winemaking expertise of Peter Sisseck, it is not surprising that PSI is a serious wine. It is subtle, delicate and compelling. PSI is a wine that is much more elegant than most Ribera del Duero. 

(RP91) The 2009 Psi is much more precocious on the nose compared to the 2008, a real step up in quality. It offers fresh strawberry, raspberry and a touch of cranberry, all infused with exotic notes of mango and orange essence. It blossoms beautifully in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with powdery tannins on the entry. There are subtle notes of blackberry, tobacco, tart cherry and pain grille that combine harmoniously on the understated, natural finish. This is drinking well now, but should age nicely over several years. Drink now-2018. (Neal Martin - Wine Advocate - Aug 2012)