In the short 3 day week before the Royal Wedding, we were delighted to have Peter Sisseck (of Dominio de Pingus) in town to show us the 2010’s of his three Ribera del Duero wines and one other wine I will come onto later. Peter somehow always manages to seem relaxed but at the same time give across an almost ridiculous amount of passion; the sort of man whose brain never really stops, which might explain why he always has a project on the go.
With some of us just back from Bordeaux, it was interesting to note that the 2009/2010 comparison seems quite similar for Ribera. 2009’s big, ripe and more forward the 2010’s which are racier with higher acidity. Peter felt the two were a contrast not unlike his first two vintages at Pingus – 1995 & 1996 (wouldn’t mind tasting those!!). Before I mention the 3 wines, it is very interesting to note a simple but “shocking” statistic that Peter gave us;
In 1990 in Ribera del Duero, there were 9,000 hectares of vines and 6,000 of those were old vines (50yrs+). Now there are 22,000 hectares of vines and only 4,000 of those are old vines. When you combine this with the fact that it is, as Peter puts it, “cheaper and easier to put ‘ok’ grapes into lots of oak rather than concentrate on great viticulture,” you can seeing some potentially worry signs for the region. This is very relevant for PSI as one of the main reasons for Peter setting up the PSI wine project was to help keep older vines and make it worthwhile for the owners of these vines to keep them. To encourage this, Peter pays up to 5 times more for the grapes from these old vine plots than the growers would get for production from younger vines. Peter is therefore a key figure in keeping up regional standards and we heard a lot from him about the use of “less oak and more tanks.”
So the wines:
Psi 2010 – The 4th Vintage of this wine. By Peter’s own admission the 2007 & 2008 were both vintages of
“trials” (good ones if you ask me) and that from 2009 the wine is how Peter envisages it to be. The wine is 100% Tinto Fino, Tempranillo, as all Peter’s Ribera wines are. It is aged in a combination of large cement tanks and large wood tanks both 4,000-11,000 litres. The nose on this really escapes the glass, the aim is for “Fruit with character and a sense of place” I think it is fair to say he has succeeded. The project has gathered pace (for the reason above this can only be seen as a good thing) and the production of 2010 is up on 2009.
Flor de Pingus 2010 – We are delighted that this is now a fixture (there was no Flor in 1995, 1997, 1998 and ONLY Flor in 2002). The average age of vines for this is now 45 years and Flor has been made from the same plots since 2004 (a stunning year!) and been Biodynamic since 2006. The wine was made in a gentle way “Slow and cool fermentation, no need to push it” and you can tell Peter – whilst laughing nervously – is very proud to say that this is his best Flor yet… he was nervous as he is wary of these statements. I found the nose a little toastier than the PSI, a great fresh, almost greenness after a coffeed finish to the nose then a really mineral finish on the palate. This was the first chance for a lot of the newer members of the team to taste these wines and there was a real awakening I think. Great to watch.
Pingus 2010 – Peter’s flagship (though I dislike the phrase, it is appropriate). Mocha coffee notes with richness but freshness on the nose. Savoury edge and a saturated texture, more broad and masculine than powerful…really great wine. No more need be said.
During earlier conversations, Peter had been asked which was his last vintage making wine in Bordeaux? The answer was 1990 but now you could say 2010 because what we next tasted was Peter’s first vintage of his new (new to him) property in St.Emilion – Chateau Rocheyron. How and when the wine is to be released (and under what name) is still to be decided but this was to be an exciting tasting for us and I think a nerve-wracking one for Peter. We had been due to taste it in Bordeaux two weeks previously but the wine was still undergoing malolactic fermentation and not at a good stage in proceedings.
Peter went for a cool fermentation and very little pumping over, where he was fermenting at 22 degrees and pumping over once a day some where 27-28 degrees and three “pumps’ per day. The wine had rich fresh red and black fruits on the nose not over the top but at the same time with the true rich character of St.Emilion (old skool!) from what is a very fine vintage. Impressive! The neighbour of this estate is Chateau Laroque. Peter’s blend is 70% merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc (this was almost all bought from a neighbour) with 60yr old vines. A second wine will almost certainly be made but that, along with the date of release, is yet to be confirmed…all very exciting, more news to follow.
