Dominio de Pingus is considered the most important Spanish wine of the modern era. It has the dubious distinction of being Spain’s first “cult wine” fetching prices that have surpassed the legendary icon, Vega Sicilia’ Unico and Reserva Especiale.
Pingus joins the ranks of the world's most coveted wines in the world including Coche Dury's Corton-Charlemagne, Ch. Rayas, and Giacomo Conterno's "Monfortino". With prestige comes a hefty price tag and Pingus has hit the stratosphere based on global demands.
With Pingus, 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 cane. Yields have typically been under one ton per acre.
Pingus is fermented in large wooden vats and, once in cask, is mostly left alone. While early vintages employed a high proportion of new barrique for aging, Peter has decreased that amount over time to the point where top vintages see no new wood whatsoever.
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 Pingus’ substance or the magical way it balances otherworldly richness with a rare sense of elegance.
Over the past decades, 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.
Wine Advocate 98-100 Points:
"Tasting a new vintage of Pingus for the first time is a special moment, and the 2022 Pingus shows the gentler profile of the vintage—it's perfumed, fruit-driven and peachy, with perfume and elegance. Peter Sisseck told me that it's his favorite vintage, because it's more the idea he has for this wine. He compared it to 2000 ("a vintage under the radar," he told me) and 1996. This aged exclusively in barrel; some vintages age for a while in 2,000- and 1,500-liter oak foudres, which was the case for the 2021, 2020 and 2018 but not in 2022. "I liked the evolution of the wine in barrel so much that I left it there the whole time," Sisseck explained. It's young and tender, ripe and juicy, with some spicy notes but with very good freshness and balance."
