Dominio de Pingus - Ribera del Duero Pingus 2021

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

Mr. Sisseck feels that the texture of Pingus 2021 is the finest he's achieved since the beginning, and that the Tempranillo lends itself very well to this. There's a chalky feel, which isn't surprising, as the parent rock is pure limestone - although some plots (Barroso) have more clay on the surface, deeper down there's hard limestone and some sandstone. There's a sense of harmony and purity that I find in most of the 2021s. There's more depth, more concentration and more tannin here, and it's a wine for the very long term; it's very, very young, but it's very harmonious and balanced. There's energy, strength and power, but also a lot of finesse. They've learned to control extraction, and all the grapes fermented with indigenous yeasts (each parcel ferments on its own, there's no pied de cuve or anything); they're very careful about deciding when to press, tasting a lot with great precision, getting samples and sitting down to taste each day after fermentation. He ferments the wine with around 30% of the bunches, which are selected at the sorting table when they see a perfect bunch. They then do a delicate pigeage (this is not done in 2022, but he did it in 2023). This is an extremely elegant and powerful Pingus, which should age for a very, very long time in bottle. It follows very closely the style of the years I love most: 1996, 2016 and 2018. 7,974 bottles were filled in June 2023. 2025-2045

Vinous A. Galloni

About the wine:

Pingus 2021 is a 100% Tempranillo wine made from selected four-hectare plots of clay-limestone soil in a vineyard planted in 1929 in La Horra, Ribera del Duero, and aged for 20 months in French oak barrels. The glass is garnet-red with violet highlights. The nuanced nose presents subtle but seductive notes of sour cherry and violet. But it's on the palate that it reveals its true character: a combination of velvety, chalky textures, effervescent energy and agile fluidity before a long, savory finish. This complex red wine from Ribera del Duero lives up to its reputation, with its unique palate and dry yet velvety balance. It's a delicious and original interpretation of the region. 2025-2045

James Suckling

About the wine:

Violets, flint, graphite, dark chocolate, ink pot and herbal notes such as tarragon. Black truffles. Tar and sandalwood notes. Black tea. Medium-bodied, with very linear, tight, polished tannins and a fine, silky texture. Endless and flawless. Deep and absolute. Superb structure and balance. Needs at least six or eight years of bottle age. Try it after 2032.