2012 Dominio de Pingus "Pingus"

Dominio de Pingus is in the La Horra area of the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. The estate was started in 1995 by the Danish winemaker Peter Sisseck, who also managed Pesquera de Duero winery. The wine is 100% Tempranillo that comes from very old vines, all grown organically. Even with its first vintage in 1995, Dominio de Pingus acquired a cult wine following. Robert M. Parker Jr. called the 1995 vintage “one of the greatest and most exciting wines I have ever tasted.” Parker further notes that Pingus is “Spain’s quintessential garage wine, made in an actual garage just off the highway to Valladolid.” Today annual production of Pingus is about 500 cases. There is a second wine called Flor de Pingus, also 100% Tempranillo. Since 2003 the estate has produced a very limited cuvee called Ribera del Duero Amelia, made from vines more than 100 years old.

Ribera del Duero is, in the words of wine writer Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson, “the modern red wine miracle of northern Spain.” In 2012 Wine Enthusiast magazine named it the international wine region of the year. The appellation is a high, rocky plateau in north/central Spain that follows the Duero River for 60 miles before the river passes into Portugal, where it becomes the famous Douro River, then flows into the Atlantic Ocean. There are more than 60,000 vineyard acres in the appellation and only red wines are produced under appellations regulations. Low rainfall, hot days, many hours of sunlight and harsh winters produce grapes of great depth and flavor. Ribera de Duero’s reputation owes much to Vega Sicilia, a 150-year old estate known both for its excellent traditional red wines and its willingness to innovate with the times. Tempranillo, known locally as Tinto Fino, is the dominant red grape in the appellation, and it is often blended with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec or Merlot. The highly acclaimed Bodegas Alejandro Fernandez, world famous for its Tinto Pesquera, is also in Ribera del Duero. The appellation status was awarded in 1982.

Think leather and cherries together for Tempranillo wines. This wine looks lighter than it is. It can be medium or full bodied, but its thin-skinned, big grapes, give it a more transparent appearance. It is grown in Spain, Portugal, the U.S. and Australia.