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97 Robert Parker
The 2009 Pingus was released last year, but it should still be pretty available. It was harvested on October 5 and 6 under perfect conditions. It is a powerful and concentrated vintage for Pingus. I’m amazed at how much the wine integrated with one extra year in the bottle – the aromas are more precise, starting to reveal the true personality of the wine. The nose is very perfumed and balsamic, with notes of violets and ripe, juicy fruit, quite high-pitched. The oak is well-integrated into the wine. The palate is very powerful, full-bodied, concentrated but balanced, and wearing its 14.5% alcohol lightly, in a very difficult combination of power and elegance, with abundant but silky tannins. Very long aftertaste. 5,600 bottles were produced. Drink: 2015-2035. I believe it’s important to guide readers to select the wines they are going to like the most, and in the case of multiple vintages of the same wine, getting the information through about the style of the year and what the differences between the wines are seems vital. Generally speaking, both 2009 and 2010 were very good vintages for Ribera del Duero, but they are stylistically different. Sisseck makes the comparison between 2009-2010 and 1995-1996, with 2009 and 1995 producing powerful wines, and 2010 and 1996 a little colder, giving wines with more acidity and finesse. It will be fascinating to follow the evolution of the two vintages. The yields are very low in both years, around 11 hectolitres/hectare, and the vinification and upbringing of the wine pretty similar: the whole grapes are fermented in 2,000 litre oak foudres, malolactic was carried out in French oak barriques where the wine was aged for 22 months.
Producer
Dominio de Pingus
The recently established, but not at all inexperienced, Dominio de Pingus estate has gathered quite a following since 1995, making them one of today’s top cult-wines coming from the Ribera del Duero. Owner, Peter Sisseck had already made a name for himself as vigneron of Hacienda Monasterio before acquiring several plots planted to old vine Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) for himself. Sisseck takes a more modern approach to his wines, using malolactic fermentation in barrel to produce supple, velvety textured wines. His efforts are more than appreciated, creating intense, pure, dark and even spicy fruit flavors throughout his best wines. His original aim to produce “an unmistakably Spanish, terroir-driven wine…a garage wine,” has come to terms in his world-acclaimed wines. Extremely limited, his best wine, Pingus, a pure Tempranillo has consistently been a showstopper – ranking amongst the best of the appellation year after year. The award winning estate also produces a more reasonably priced Flor de Pingus, and PSI, a blend of predominately Tempranillo and Garnacha making the wine fruit-forward, fresh and pleasantly approachable.