2022 Dominio de Pingus "Pingus" Ribera del Duero

Tasting a new vintage of Pingus for the first time is a special moment, and the 2022 Pingus shows the gentler profile of the vintage—it's perfumed, fruit-driven and peachy, with perfume and elegance. Peter Sisseck told me that it's his favorite vintage, because it's more the idea he has for this wine. He compared it to 2000 ("a vintage under the radar," he told me) and 1996. This aged exclusively in barrel; some vintages age for a while in 2,000- and 1,500-liter oak foudres, which was the case for the 2021, 2020 and 2018 but not in 2022. "I liked the evolution of the wine in barrel so much that I left it there the whole time," Sisseck explained. It's young and tender, ripe and juicy, with some spicy notes but with very good freshness and balance. There will be some 7,500 bottles of Pingus, and they expect to bottle it in June/July 2024. (LG)