PSI is the 23rd letter in the Greek alphabet and is the name of Peter Sisseck’s (of the coveted Pingus and Flor de Pingus) utopian wine from Ribera del Duero. Peter has sought out the best independent vineyard growers in Ribera and is incentivizing them to improve viticultural practices and shun chemicals, lower yields and practice biodynamics by paying them increasingly for the fruit as they improve. The result is a “give back” to the region wine that also expresses the “soul” of Ribera.

Dried lemon rind and blueberries with sliced mushrooms on the nose. Bark too. Medium to full-bodied with firm tannins that are rather minerally and salty in nature. Crushed stone and powerful in the texture. A little rustic but real. Old vine character.

Robert Parker 93 Points

James Suckling 92 Points

About Pingus Winery

The Early Years

Pingus is produced by the visionary Danish winemaker Peter Sisseck. Peter arrived in Spain in 1993 to manage a new project, 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 several ancient vineyards that inspired him to make his own wine. He called it “Pingus,” after his childhood nickname.

One can only imagine what the reactions were like when Peter showed up in Bordeaux at the March 1996 en primeur tastings. Yet, by the end of the week, Pingus was perhaps the greatest story of that season’s futures campaign. Robert Parker announced the wine on the back cover of his Wine Advocate, bestowing an unheard of 96-100 point score. The world took notice, and Pingus was on its way.

Pushing the Limits

From the beginning, Peter’s vision was to push old-vine Tempranillo to its upper limits. He spent the first few years pruning his vines back to a healthy balance—the trunks were straightened, lowered, and canes were pruned back to 1-2 buds per stump. Yields have typically been under one ton per acre.

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.

Peter’s winery work has been widely imitated, and many wines can mimic the exotic textures that Pingus possesses. Yet, while they might approach Pingus’ style, none of these newcomers has the substance that defines Pingus.

Over the past decade, Peter has continually refined his original vision. Since 2001, he has employed biodynamic viticulture to capture a healthier balance in his vineyards. In the winery, he has made subtle, but important, changes aimed at taming the region’s natural power, and giving more delineation and depth to the Pingus voice.