Dominio de Pingus Flor de Pingus 2022 750ml

Dark cherries, ripe but fresh blueberries, slate, violets and a hint of graphite. There is lushness of fruit but it remains fresh and very primary in the middle with powdery tannins and a long, even finish. Has volume and linearity as well. Drink or hold.

The 2021 Flor de Pingus is a village wine from La Horra, made with small vinifications by plot and then a blending exercise, so it's the wine they feel is most their style. They look for texture, looking for a delicate and elegant wine. The nose is very subtle and harmonious, super clean and with a lot of focus. There are no traces of oak on the nose. The profile of the wine is more in line with 2018 or 2016 than with 2015 or 2019. This has a velvety texture, an elegant mouthfeel and some restraint (he thinks the warm summer in 2021 made the plants slow down), and it is fresher than the wine from 2020. There's a very fine thread, with chalky and very elegant tannins. This delivered what the wine promised from barrel. Starting in 2023, the wine will be certified organic. They produced around 96,300 bottles and some larger formats. It was bottled in June 2023. (Luis Gutiérrez)

The 2021 Flor de Pingus hails from several vineyards in La Horra, Ribera del Duero and spent 18 months in French oak barrels. Purple in hue. The complex, subtle aromas include sour cherry and blueberry intertwined with rose, herbs and garrigue hints. On the palate, it's dry and velvety, with a balanced, fairly intense, chalky character that's low on freshness but high on energy. This is a distinctive, delicious red that reflects a modern approach to Ribera. (Joaquín Hidalgo)

The 2022 Flor de Pingus is made with grapes from the Burgos area of Ribera del Duero and was fermented in used barrels after an early harvest in a warm year. Floral and fruit aromas—lavender and violet, which are rare in warm vintages—open the nose, followed by a delicate touch of oak. A hint of mint and cassis underscores the nose’s elegance. Juicy, with fine tannins and a light grip, the palate offers more structure than the 2021 while maintaining notable precision. Tasted six months after bottling, the 2022 shows depth and flavor and promises long aging potential.

The bottled 2022 Flor de Pingus has purity and is open, expressive and pretty. There's probably 3% Garnacha here, and the aim is to achieve perhaps 5% with the new plantings. Garnacha in the same soils, rootstock and everything always has a lower pH than Tempranillo. Garnacha also has less tannin, so it helps to soften the tannic sensation from Tempranillo. It matured in French oak barrels, 20% of them new, because he believes the new vines benefit from the new barrels; this also allows the barrels to get ready for the next vintage of Pingus. This is clean and aromatic, with a balanced and tender palate; it's juicy and fine-boned, with very fine, elegant tannins and some grip. It's a very pretty version of Flor.

Shows a lovely counterpoint between freshness and generosity, with good energy and drive to the expressive range of plum sauce and warm fig flavors, plus accents of vanilla, cedar, leafy herbs and spices. Firm, fine-grained tannins show supple integration, emerging on the long and fragrant finish. Drink now through 2036. (Alison Napjus)