2011 PSI

Tinta del Pais. Deep crimson – still looks youthful. Light vanilla sweetness but the dominant aroma is ripe red fruit – cherry and dried cranberry. Chewy and honest on the palate. Lots of flavour, compact texture and all in harmony. Quite a big, rich wine but with freshness too. (JH)

The 2011 PSI is pure Tempranillo from a diversity of small plots of old vineyards in different zones of the Burgos province, always north of the Duero river. The grapes fermented in cement vats and aged in a combination of used barrels from Pingus, oak vats and cement tanks. It is a bright ruby red, with notes of plums and very well-integrated wood. But what really surprised me is the palate: still medium-bodied, somehow austere and lineal, straight rather than round, not showing the warmth of the vintage or alcohol at all. It only shows some toasty notes that are not excessive and that should disappear with a bit of time in the bottle. 160,000 bottles were produced. Drink 2014-2017. I had a relaxed and superb tasting with Peter Sisseck, where we had time to discuss the wines and Ribera del Duero in general as Sisseck is now part of the Consejo Regulador. It was also a great learning experience as he showed me some experimental wines that resulted in adjustments from the 2012 vintage onward, and a big jump in precision for the wines, with the yet unbottled 2012 Pingus verging on perfection. He explained the range of wines he produces as it follows: PSI is the regional wine, Flor de Pingus is the village, and Pingus is the Cru. PSI is the newer wine in the lineup and the one that might require more explanation. In 2007, a difficult vintage in Ribera del Duero, he lost quite a lot of grapes for Flor de Pingus because of a big hailstorm, so he had to look for grapes he could purchase. He then realized how much Ribera had grown: from 6,000 hectares in 1985 to 9,000 hectares in 1990 and more than 22,000 hectares today! There is a big surplus of grapes, so the grapes from old vineyards are not valued. He decided that he wanted to support the people who were keeping their old vineyards and not ripping them up, or going to younger vines and high yields. He purchased their grapes, paid a fair price and produced PSI with them. Besides tasting extensively and slowly, I retasted 2010 Pingus and I also had the chance to preview the 2013 Pingus (clean, pure, with great acidity, but still too young) plus some experimental cuvees, some of which might see the light in the future. They have never produced better wines at Pingus. Bravo! Importer: The Rare Wine Company, Sonoma, CA; www.rarewineco.com

Glass-staining ruby. Dark berry, bitter chocolate and potpourri on the perfumed nose. Spicy, penetrating black and blue fruit flavors show impressive clarity and lift, with a zesty mineral nuance adding bite. Smooth and seamless on the subtly tannic finish, which leaves juicy blueberry and violet pastille notes behind.