VINTAGE, EN PRIMEUR
“I am very proud and happy with what we have produced this year. Yet again it demonstrates that vineyard handling, biodynamics and soil-life activity can cope with a lot of adversities.”
PETER SISSECK, MAY 2023
Peter Sisseck lives and breathes his wines.
he told me during a recent visit to Pingus.
He knows exactly what he is trying to achieve – the purest possible expression of limestone soils – and is prepared to change tack to get there. He famously went from ‘200% new oak’ in the early years of Pingus to no new oak today. As he joked, quoting Lampedusa, “Everything must change for everything to remain the same.”
Limestone is the thread uniting the Sisseck approach. Whether in Ribera del Duero, Saint-Émilion or Jerez, it is limestone soils’ ability to deliver definition, precision and texture that fascinates Peter.
Flor de Pingus, the second wine which has become so sought after in its own right, shows just what is possible from biodynamics and old vines in Ribera del Duero.
As I have said before, Pingus itself seems to exist in a different realm altogether, one of air and essence. It is one of those rare wines that is more volume than mass, more aroma than weight.
Having finally visited the PSI facility in Aranda de Duero this year, I was suitably wowed by this slick operation whose worthy aim – to safeguard the old bush vines of Ribera del Duero – also happens to produce one of northern Spain’s most exciting wines.
If there is one message to transmit here, it is this: you must try Peter’s Fino (see the final page of the offer). The 2022 Saca is in stock now and is available for delivery by the bottle. It will change your idea of sherry for good!
“I do things from the heart, not through business plans,”GUY SEDDON, Head of Fine Wine Buying September 2023
Pingus is made from less than five hectares of vines in La Horra, Ribera del Duero. At 8-900 metres above sea level, La Horra is one of the highest and most easterly of Ribera’s villages. This starkly beautiful landscape is a place of hot days and cool nights. Alluding to this temperature variation and its high proportion of limestone, Peter calls La Horra “the future of Ribera”.
Pingus’ bush vines are a massal selection of the region’s first generation of post-phylloxera vines. Viticulture here has been biodynamic since 2000, aided by the dry, windswept region’s low disease pressure.
Having started out with ‘200% new oak’, Pingus has had no new oak since 2012. It comes from two neighbouring plots, both planted in 1929: San Cristóbal, “the backbone of Pingus”, and the more delicate Barroso.
In a way, Flor de Pingus is the range’s flagship – a benchmark of top quality Ribera that most of us can actually aspire to drink. That doesn’t mean it is better than Pingus itself, simply that Pingus somehow defies its origin.
Flor is an extension of the Pingus approach. It comes from 35 hectares owned by the estate, plus another seven hectares in long-term leases, dotted around the village of La Horra.
Unlike Pingus, Peter says around 20% new oak helps to round out Flor’s tannins, whilst a dash of Garnacha (Grenache) “really freshens it up.” A proportion is fined with egg whites while the rest ages in barrel until early summer.
PSI stands for Peter Sisseck, the Greek character Ψ resembling a bush vine.
Without PSI, many of Ribera del Duero’s old bush vines would have been replanted, the low yields making them commercially unviable for many growers. Only by buying grapes well above market rates can Peter persuade the growers to retain them. PSI has been a lifeline for Ribera’s bush vines, since starting in 2007.
Based in Aranda de Duero, at the eastern end of the region, Bodegas & Viñedos Alnardo (as the PSI company is called), now also owns 30 hectares of vines. Over 600 parcels go into PSI, from over 20 villages. Of the total 150 hectares, the average plot size is a quarter of a hectare! Around half the total grapes used are bought in.
The impressive modern facility includes a large cool chamber, in which grapes are kept at 5°C for a period before fermentation, as well as a state-of-the-art bottling line. Ageing takes place in large wooden vats.
The following is based on Peter’s vintage report, plus comments from a day spent with him in Ribera in September 2023…
The 2022 vintage in Spain and the rest of Europe will go down as historic. We started the year with low winter rains coming on top of a dry 2021, which gave cause for concern early on.
We were lucky to avoid spring frost and fruit set was normal, so a good-sized crop was expected. Some of our first thoughts were: how much fruit can the plants carry if summer is as warm and dry as it looked like it could be? We didn’t want to stress the plants, but yields should not be too low, to avoid overly concentrated wines. ‘No de-leafing’ was certainly mandatory.
I took inspiration from Burgundy of not trimming the younger plants, to avoid having a big production of side shoots. This seemed to help a lot: the plants, where trimming was tried, did seem to react more to the dry conditions and showed some signs of stress.
Peter mentioned that although the vines “slowed down” at the height of the 2022 heat, they did not entirely shut down…
The older vines of Flor, Psi and Pingus itself showed much more resilience and produced wonderfully balanced grapes. At the time of véraison (colour change), we had to do some adjusting, especially on the younger vines that led to a lower-than-expected yield, especially in Flor de Pingus, but
it was important to get all the bunches to the same ripening level so that we could do an early harvest.
Harvest was started in Pingus, in the San Cristóbal vineyard, as is often the case, on 7th September. Beautiful ripe grapes at around 13.8% potential alcohol, somewhat low in total acidity but with healthy pH values.
In the afternoon, we started some of the younger vineyards for Flor de Pingus, a little higher in alcohol but still ok –14.3% potential alcohol. Harvest took place under superb weather conditions.
Fermentations with natural yeasts were very easy and very aromatic. Just 30% of the normal pump-overs were done and the temperature was kept low, at around 23°C, to avoid too much extraction.
The harvest was finished on 19th September. At that time, only 5-10% of the bodegas in Ribera had begun the harvest!! It did make you wonder for a while who was the fool, but having tasted the wines, I am sure we made the right decision.
The wines are delicious, wonderfully precise, lovely colours with some ruby sparkles and tons of freshness. Not at all the heavy and clumsy style you would expect from such a warm and dry vintage!
“In Spain, it was of course HOT HOT and DRY DRY.”
92% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo), 8% Garnacha. PSI comes from a patchwork of small old-vine parcels throughout Ribera del Duero, which are over 50 years old on average, although some are over a century old. Deep ruby in colour. In tastings, Peter now chooses to show PSI in third place, after Flor and Pingus itself – quite an expression of confidence! The 2022 is a serious PSI – sinewy and redberried, moreishly drinkable, with crunchy definition. It will be bottled in spring 2024. As last year, 360,000 bottles have been made, which is nearly full capacity. Fermented at 23˚C, then aged in large oak vats. 14% abv.
Corney & Barrow Score 17.5 - 18
Recommended drinking from 2024 - 2030
£285/Case of 12 bottles, in bond UK
£165/Case of 3 magnums, in bond UK
95% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and 5% Garnacha, coplanted. Flor de Pingus is made from over 40 hectares of vines, dotted around the village of La Horra. Bright, succulent red berry and cherry fruit, with sweet spices – a wine of flair, lifted by fresh acidity. Crunchy, grippy tannins make themselves felt on the finish. As Peter said when we tasted this together, it flows beautifully. 30% of the blend of Flor 2022 is from younger vines. Fermented at low temperatures of 23-25°C. 20% new oak. Cropped at a very low 22hl/ha. 14% abv. Peter expects to bottle this around May/June 2024.
Corney & Barrow Score 18+
Recommended drinking from 2027 - 2037
£760/Case of 12 bottles, in bond UK
£410/Case of 3 magnums, in bond UK
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.
100% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo). Pingus comes from just over four hectares of bush vines, planted in 1929, in the Ribera del Duero village of La Horra. Deep ruby-purple colour. Aromas of sweet raspberry coulis and wild strawberry, with fresh mint leaf. My jottings became rather scattered as this beautiful wine took hold –“purity… rich but so fresh… crystalline… ethereal.” Pingus 2022 is propelled into the air on a wave of lifted red fruit, where it floats rather improbably, imposing but elegant – the bumblebee that shouldn’t be able to fly but carries it off effortlessly. Or, as Peter said after tasting it, almost to himself, “You don’t get many wines like this…” 14% abv. No new oak.
Corney & Barrow Score 19
Recommended drinking from 2029 - 2045
£2,045/Case of 3 bottles, in bond UK
£1,375/Case of 1 magnum, in bond UK
£2,785/Case of 1 double magnum, in bond UK
Pingus will be allocated – please may we have orders by Friday 22nd September.
“Tasting all over Spain, I never really fell in love with any of the white wine areas until one day it dawned on me that Fino is the single greatest white wine of Spain. The problem is that people never think about it as a white wine.”
PETER SISSECKPeter calls buying a bodega in Jerez “a dream come true”. From a man who dreams big – and has already received the highest-ever score for a Fino from The Wine Advocate –this is so exciting. The revolution has come to Jerez…
This bone-dry Fino, in a Burgundy-shaped bottle, comes from Pago Balbaina, one of the region’s most historic vineyards. Open a bottle and leave it in the fridge – you’ll be won over, I promise.
The 2023 saca (bottling) is a wine of purity and freshness, combining lemon zest, almonds and apricots, with a honeyed intensity. Fabulously pure on the palate, with that trademark saltiness of Fino lingering rather than imposing, adding shape, focus and a tang to the finish. My favourite of Peter’s three vintages to date. 15% abv.
Corney & Barrow Score 18
Recommended drinking from 2023 – 2026
£170/Case of 6 bottles, in bond UK
The 2022 saca of Viña Corrales is in stock now and available for delivery by the bottle…
£34.25/Bottle inc-VAT
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