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| © Carlos Gonzalez Armesto |A bottle of Pingus stands in front of Sisseck's new wine project: PSI. |
Spain's first cult wine of the modern age, Dominio de Pingus actually owes its origins to a Danish cartoon, James Lawrence discovers.
1. It's all in a namePingus may be an icon of modern Spanish winemaking, but many still have issues with the slightly idiosyncratic title. According to its Danish owner Peter Sisseck, Pingus was his childhood nickname, bestowed upon him by a formidable aunt. "She got fed up of trying to differentiate between me and my uncle Peter in her home, so I was christened 'Pingus'. It was her favorite cartoon character – Peter and Ping," he explains.
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Dominio de Pingus was founded in Ribera Del Duero in 1995 by Sisseck, a man who has been enjoying wine from a very young age. "I had my virgin sip at the age of eight – the first wine I really remember liking was a 1961 Château d'Issan," he says. Yet, most of his family had no connection to the industry at all; their wealth came from running a company that manufactured equipment for the printing industry. But with an indefatigable passion for wine – temporarily put on hold during his compulsory military service – Sisseck went to Bordeaux in the 1980s to study with his enologist uncle, Peter Vinding-Diers. Then, fortune would take him to Spain; in 1990, friends of Vinding-Diers purchased the Sherry producer Bobadilla. Part of the deal included a small vineyard in Ribera Del Duero and it was suggested that Sisseck would be an ideal candidate to manage the estate, today known as Hacienda Monasterio. He hasn't looked back since.
3. A chance encounter
After successfully managing Hacienda Monasterio for several years, the young Dane was increasingly eager to produce a wine of his own. Exploring the region, Sisseck eventually came across an old Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) vineyard in the sub-region of La Horra. He attributes the discovery to "luck and good intuition" but, of course, Sisseck was not going to leave it at that. An extensive study revealed just how glorious the terroir was. "Pingus is produced from vineyards planted on a clay/limestone soil, which is a pretty perfect blend for this harsh climate. They were first planted in 1929 and offer excellent drainage, but the sub-soils also retain water extremely well, essential for the often very dry months of July and August," he says. The vineyards are now run on biodynamic principles, according to Sisseck.
4. The first glimpse
Sisseck made the first vintage in September 1995, in a rented winery. Just 325 cases of super-concentrated, powerful Tempranillo were made, but that was enough to elicit a phenomenal response from the wine trade. Corney and Barrow's managing director, Adam Brett-Smith, says: "I remember very vividly my first sip of Pingus – it was in 1996 and I was visiting Peter's uncle, who apologetically poured me two glasses of this unknown wine from Ribera and asked for my opinion. It was my epiphany moment; I knew within 25 seconds that we'd import the wine, despite its weird name." The British merchant then arranged a blind tasting with Robert Parker, who responded by awarding the 1995 the highest score given to any young wine from Spain. "It was important to gain Parker's approval back in the 1990s, as this was his heyday, but even British critics like Michael Broadbent, who are known for their classical tastes, liked the wine," Sisseck says.
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| © Carlos Gonzalez Armesto | Sisseck's wines are becoming "fresher" and less extractive. |
5. Disaster strikes
One of the great ironies of Pingus is that it took a horrible disaster for the wine's reputation to really spread. Sisseck's importer had arranged for 75 cases of the 1995 to be shipped to the US, with an expected price of around $200 per bottle. However, in November 1997 the container ship sank while navigating around the islands of the Azores – every single bottle now resides at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. "We never considered trying to recover the wine because of the expense," Sisseck says. But, every cloud, as they say, has a silver lining and the sudden scarcity of the 1995 caused a dramatic price hike in the US, to more than $450 a bottle. It remains a key market for Pingus today, but it's a shame the US has banned underwater wine maturation; intrepid divers could have made a fortune from this forgotten treasure.
6. Sexing up the blend
It is commonly believed that Pingus is always mono-varietal, but Sisseck will often blend in a small percentage of the local white grape Albillo and Grenache to add "spice, vigor and finesse". In fact, he reports that the local bureaucracy, the Consejo Regulador, is pushing to allow a greater percentage of Albillo into the Ribera Del Duero blends, something Sisseck supports. "Red wine doesn't have to be all black to be good!" he argues. "Albillo can add some lovely aromatics to an already great wine."
7. Four wines, not one
The legendary Pingus (500 cases on average per year) isn't the only trick up Sisseck's sleeve. It is joined by the second wine, Flor de Pingus, produced from rented Tempranillo vineyards, with a more generous production of around 4000 cases. "Amelia" is a single-barrel cuvée, named after his wife, which is based on a 500-vine parcel planted in 1895. It is hardly seen outside the US, as the American importer grabs as much as he can. Oh, and Sisseck also makes wine at Château Rocheyron, in Saint-Émilion. On the rare occasions he finds himself with spare time, he likes to "go hiking, photograph and relax".
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| © Carlos Gonzalez Armesto | Sisseck's old bush vines in Ribera del Duero. |
8. From Russia with love
In January 2015, the Spanish Newspaper Olive Press reported that Vladimir Putin had commissioned Sisseck to oversee the production of a Flor de Pingus-style wine at Putin's holiday home, in Marbella. They even claimed that he had sold Putin 25 vines into the bargain. "The whole story is complete garbage," laughs Sisseck. "But it's a good yarn, nonetheless."
9. Lighten up
Pingus, like most top wines, does have its detractors – critics who claim that the wine is too overwhelming, stuffed full of extracted, dense fruit. But, according to his UK importer, Sisseck has been easing up on the extraction in recent years. "If anything, Pingus has become fresher and more classic," says Brett-Smith. "The amount of new oak has been reduced and, today, Pingus is a wine anyone can slip into – it's a seductive beast."
10. PSI
Peter Sisseck's recent project, PSI, has involved a lengthy and meticulous study of the greatest potential vineyard sites in Ribera, with the laudable aim of protecting the region's precious, but increasingly rare old bush vines, found around the region, but particularly in the sub-zone of La Horra. Once the top sites are identified, Sisseck pays a premium for the growers' fruit, in return for a promise not to grub them up. The wine is made in collaboration with the Alonso Y Yerro winemaker Pablo Rubio, at Bodegas Y Vinedos Alnardo. Unlike Pingus, the volumes are reasonable – more than 16,000 cases in 2010 – and the wine modestly priced: the 2010 vintage can be yours for less than $40.
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