Flor de Pingus 2023 Peter Sisseck

Flor de Pingus 2023 is the highly sought‑after second wine from Dominio de Pingus, the cult estate of Danish winemaker Peter Sisseck in Ribera del Duero, Castilla y León. Made entirely from old‑vine Tempranillo and raised in French oak, it offers a remarkably pure and refined expression of the region at a more approachable level than its legendary big brother, Pingus. Since its debut, Flor de Pingus has become a modern Spanish icon in its own right, consistently earning top scores and showcasing why Sisseck is regarded as one of Spain’s greatest winemaking talents.

Tasting Notes
In the glass, Flor de Pingus 2023 typically shows a deep, opaque ruby to purple hue, reflecting its concentration and youth. The nose is vibrant and layered, with intense aromas of black cherry, ripe plum and blackberry framed by notes of violet, graphite and subtle wild herbs. The influence of French oak adds an elegant touch of sweet spice, cocoa, cedar and a hint of vanilla, all beautifully integrated rather than dominating. On the palate, expect a full‑bodied yet remarkably poised wine, with dense dark fruit, fine‑grained tannins and a striking freshness that keeps everything in balance. Flavours of blackcurrant, damson and juicy cherries mingle with liquorice, tobacco leaf, exotic spice and a mineral, almost saline edge from the old vines and limestone‑rich soils. The finish is long and precise, suggesting excellent aging potential. While already seductive in its youth after a good decant, this 2023 vintage will reward patience, evolving gracefully over 10–15 years, gaining complexity, silkier texture and more savoury nuances.

Production
Flor de Pingus is sourced from old Tempranillo vines, typically 40–60 years of age, grown on the high plateau of Ribera del Duero along the Duero River in Castilla y León. Here, poor, well‑drained soils of clay, limestone and sand, combined with hot days, cool nights and a continental climate, naturally limit yields and intensify flavour. The grapes are harvested by hand, with meticulous selection in the vineyard and at the winery to ensure only perfectly ripe, healthy fruit is used. In the cellar, Sisseck favours a minimally interventionist approach: gentle extraction, careful control of fermentations and an emphasis on purity of fruit and terroir. Flor de Pingus is matured for around 14 months in French oak barrels, many of them previously used for Pingus and complemented by a portion of new oak, giving the wine both structure and finesse without overwhelming its natural character.

Food & Serving
Flor de Pingus 2023 is a superb partner for rich, savoury dishes such as grilled or roasted lamb, dry‑aged ribeye steak, Iberico pork, game birds, or slow‑braised beef and oxtail. It also pairs beautifully with hearty Spanish cuisine – think lamb chuletillas, morcilla, or stews with chorizo – as well as mature Manchego, hard sheep’s cheeses and truffled dishes. Serve at 16–18°C (60–64°F) in generous Bordeaux‑style glasses to let the aromatics unfold. In its youth, decanting for 1–2 hours is strongly recommended to soften the tannins and reveal the wine’s full depth; as it gains bottle age, a shorter decant mainly to remove sediment will be sufficient.

Producer
Dominio de Pingus was founded in the mid‑1990s by Danish winemaker Peter Sisseck, who arrived in Ribera del Duero after formative years working in Bordeaux. With the very first vintage of Pingus in 1995, the estate exploded onto the international scene, rapidly earning cult status and multiple 100‑point scores from leading critics. Based near Quintanilla de Onésimo, Sisseck focuses on old‑vine Tempranillo, low yields and fastidious, largely hands‑off craftsmanship to produce some of Spain’s most coveted wines. Flor de Pingus was conceived as a second wine, sourced from old vines adjacent to the Pingus parcels, but it has long since established its own reputation as one of Ribera del Duero’s benchmark reds. Together with the more accessible PSI, the Dominio de Pingus range has helped redefine what Spanish Tempranillo can be, placing the estate firmly among the elite producers of the world.