Spanish great: the latest Pingus releases
Dominio de Pingus, Pingus, Ribera del Duero 2018 98
£650-£750 (ib) Albany Vintners, Corney & Barrow, Cru, Ditton Wine & Spirits, Nickolls & Perks, Starling Wines, VinQuinn, Wineye Amid all the hype about its price and cult status, it’s easy to forget that Pingus is also a magnificent expression of both Ribera del Duero in general and the estate’s tiny vineyard in particular: a seamless, satiny texture, with not a hair out of place; superb depth of pure mulberry flavour with subtle shadings of spice, but no feeling of excess; contained power – beautifully balanced with a seam of high-plateau freshness; gorgeous young, but years ahead of it. Biodynamic. Drink 2021-2050 Alcohol 14.5%
1 Dominio de Pingus, Flor de Pingus, Ribera del Duero 2018 96
£67.50 (ib)-£ 118.33 Corney & Barrow, Cru, Millésima, Starling Wines, Wineye
In the shadow of Pingus? Only, perhaps, if you taste it after the grand vin, because Flor de Pingus is another haute-couture masterpiece in its own right, again with that highly polished tannic texture and layers of dark but succulent and perfectly ripe mulberry fruit, suggestions of something darker and savoury emerging, but for now this is just a gloriously sensual young wine with a pronounced sense of place. Biodynamic. Drink 2021-2040 Alc 14.5%
2 Dominio de Pingus, Psi, Ribera del Duero 2018 93
£ 20.95 (ib)-£ 36.67 Corney & Barrow, Cru, Ditton Wine & Spirits, Lay & Wheeler, Millésima, Starling Wines, Wineye
Pound for pound, Psi is one of the best-value Spanish reds around, a wine that has the slick Sisseck signature in its perfectly proportioned balance of ripe (but in no sense overripe), warm and creamy dark fruit and a streak of Ribera cool-night freshness, the tannins perhaps a touch more gripping, but a very satisfying, resonant, savoury, food-friendly red with ageing potential. Drink 2021-2030 Alc 14%
3 Bodega San Francisco Javier Barrio Santiago, Viña Corrales Fino, Jerez 95 POA Corney & Barrow
In some senses this fino Sherry is the answer to ‘what would white Pingus taste like’, since Sisseck’s hunt for a limestone vineyard to make a great Spanish white wine ultimately took him to Jerez. And there’s something very white Burgundy about the refined texture here: it’s been polished and buffed to a high sheen. The classic fino nutty-yeasty savouriness is there, too, but it whispers rather than shouts. Great tapering length. Such elegance. Drink 2021-2035 Alc 15%