While other Spanish wines such as Marqués de Riscal, Faustino and Marqués de Murrieta have acheived international recognition, Dominio de Pingus is one of the very few that has joined the ranks of some of the world’s most desired wines. Like Vega Sicilia, Dominio de Pingus is known and revered wherever Spanish great wines are discussed.

Pingus has a quality and a sense of absolute individuality!!!

Pingus is produced by the acclaimed Danish winemaker Peter Sisseck. Peter arrived in Spain in 1993 to manage Hacienda Monasterio. While planting and developing Monasterio, he began to dream about the old vines he saw dotted around the Ribera del Duero landscape. By the 1995 vintage, Peter had found a group of old vines that spurred him to embark on his own project. He called it “Pingus”, after his childhood nickname.

In 1996 Peter showed up in Bordeaux at the en primeur tastings and Robert Parker announced the wine on the back cover of his Wine Advocate, bestowing an unheard of 96-100 point score.

Pingus is fermented in large wooden vats and, once in cask, is mostly left alone. It is largely raised in new barriques, though the flavors of the oak vanish into the enormous concentration. Pingus is indeed a wine that is magical in the way that it balances otherworldly richness with a rare sense of elegance.

Having established Pingus as a new benchmark for greatness in Spanish wine, Peter Sisseck has embarked on a new quest to produce a wine that captures the soul of Ribera del Duero. And he intends to do so by harnessing the passion of the region’s growers who have, for far too long, lacked the tools, capital and vision to make wine that is truly “theirs.” And thus Ψ PSI was born.

Ψ PSI. Named after the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet, Ψ PSI emerged from a thought that had haunted Peter since he first arrived in Ribera del Duero in 1990. He always felt that though region’s old vineyards had enormous potential, the quality of local farming was poor. Historically, growers had been paid by the ton, in other words, for quantity and not quality; they therefore had little incentive to cut yields. And the excessive use of chemicals in this region gave substance to Claude Bourgignon’s vivid description of vineyard soils having less microbial life than the Sahara Desert. Much work would be needed to restore the soil and improve viticultural practices, but Peter realized that buying the oldest vineyards was unlikely, given the growers’ deep attachment to their land. But what if he could involve the growers in a cooperative project, to produce better, more natural grapes?

By changing the economic incentives, and actively engaging the growers’ passion for their land, he might be able to obtain the kind of healthy, balanced fruit that he desired, while also helping to augment the health of vineyards (and wallets of their owners) throughout the region.

These three wines are some of the best wines that are produced in the Ribera del Duero region of Spain and also some of our favorites. Retail Price Range in the U.S. for some vintages: $55-$180. These superb wines are hard to find unless you go to a high end wine boutique in major cities of the U.S.

These wines are characteristically deep red in color with a full body and great aromas. The complex notes on these wines include: coffee, black pepper, vanilla and chocolate undertones. These wines are great when paired with molecular gastronomy or high end cuisine.

On a rating scale from 1-10 we give ‘Dominio de Pingus’ a Perfect 10.