2022 PSI (by Dominio de Pingus) Ribera del Duero DO, Spain.
The PSI is an old vine cuvée (mostly all Tinto Fino-Tempranillo) from Ribera del Duero’s legendary Pingus and local growers made to preserve old vine plots and heritage clones in the region, it is crafted by Peter Sisseck (Pingus) who loves these head trained historic clone vines. This deeply hued wine is more rustic and less woody than the current normal for the Ribera del Duero region, it’s a throw back and soulful version that shows old vine concentration, tannin structure and a raw character with dark vine picked berry, plum, fig, black cherry and currant fruits leading the way on the full bodied palate, along with hints of spice, minty, anise, cedar, loamy stones and delicate florals. Earlier editions saw mostly concrete vat fermentation and aging, but over time Sisseck has moved to large French oak barrel to mature the PSI, which I can see the appeal of, but I loved earlier bottlings, especially the 2010, that seemed a little brighter in style. That said, this 2022 is a lovely wine and drinking nicely, interestingly it includes 10% Garnacha, maybe inter-planted, which I don’t remember being listed in the varietal make up in the early editions. Peter Sisseck’s Pingus is a more Bordeaux like wine that requires long cellar times to be at it’s very best, so it is great that his talents are on display in this PSI, a wine that can be drunk young and that is remarkable affordable. Only 100% organic grapes, from those old head trained vines, are used here with Sisseck doing a cool vat fermentation with carefully de-stemmed fruit and aging the PSI for 16 months in the puncheon size barrels.
Once the mighty and high rent district of Spain with the legendary Vega Sicilia and of course the iconic Pingus, the Ribera del Duero, as I’ve said here before, seems like a region ready to embrace a new world, at least a new generation, while still being an area that likes to think of itself as Spain’s answer to France’s “Left Bank” of Bordeaux, and while comparison does flatter the Ribera del Duero in some ways, the region offers much more and should aim for more. Much like Rioja, heritage properties still merit attention, but a newer generation has brought some more approachable wines, which is bringing a renewed interest here. With Pingus and Vega Sicilla making wines that surpass the First Growths in quality and price in most vintages, things will not change too quickly at these addresses, but even Peter Sissack of Dominio de Pingus is making subtle changes at his famed estate where he plans to pursue the use of less new French oak. I read an interesting critical overview of Ribera del Duero by Neal Martin, formally of the Wine Journal and the Wine Advocate, in which he puts forth the idea to challenge the old ways and go for a unique identity allowing the terroir to show more than the winemaking, and while I agree it surly is going to be a painful exercise and will be difficult to say the least. But there is a new young generation there that is ready to make this happen, as there is in most of Spain’s regions, and this is a good thing. The Ribera del Duero does have some appealing values, with Alfredo Maestro Tejero, Finca Villacreces, Bodegas Y Vinedos Aalto, Emilio Moro and the famous Tinto Pesquera, maybe the wine that brought the modern era to the region, being good ways to start your journey of discovery of the wines here, along with this PSI.
($45 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive