Pingus Flor de Pingus 2018

A ripe, layered red with plum, black-cherry and some toasted oak. It’s full-bodied with rounded tannins, but there’s a lively edge to the wine as well. Subtle and fine. Sort of shy still.

Like the rest of the wines, I tasted the bottled 2018 Flor de Pingus—which I tasted unbottled last year—next to the 2019 that will be bottled in June 2021, and it was great to see how the wines reflected the character of the two vintages. All of the estate vineyards are certified organic, and this is pure Tinta del País, the local strain of Tempranillo, from 40 hectares in five different locations (parajes) of the village of La Horra where the Pingus vineyards are also located. It fermented with natural yeasts and also natural malolactic and matured for 18 months in French oak barrels, 25% new. The day I tasted it, the wine was oakier than normal, but the amount of new oak is not higher than normal. The palate showed much better, with very fine and polished tannins. There is freshness, even red fruit and good balance. The oak should integrate with a little more time in bottle. It was bottled in July 2020. Rating : 94+

Inky, bright-rimmed ruby. Intensely perfumed aromas of ripe dark berries, cherry preserves, vanilla, pipe tobacco and candied flowers, with a spicy flourish adding lift. Stains the palate with concentrated black and blue fruit, floral pastille and spicecake flavors that become more lively as the wine opens up. The floral and cherry notes carry through the strikingly long, sweet, youthfully tannic finish, which features a hint of candied licorice.

A youthful 2017 that’s both bright and rich, Flor de Pingus is a selection from vineyards around the town of La Horra. The fruit is dark, the tannins warm, with chocolate and butterscotch notes. It’s a heady Ribera del Duero lifted by floral notes.