Ribera del Duero

Flor de Pingus 2005

Ahhh back in Ribera del Duero. I haven’t had a bottle of wine from this region for ages it seems. Don’t get me wrong, I love the wines from all the other regions, but Ribera del Duero just seems to push a few extra buttons. Its the fruit profile, the texture, the tannins give and the overall structure that sucks me in. And when its a wine of this calibre it bloody well should. Unfortunately, you’ll probably struggle to find a bottle of it, it sells out in minutes.

I know I keep going on about it, but again the 05 looks more balanced to me. I’d love to see them both in 10 years, but alas I have none in the cellar. I’ll have to scour the wine auctions in a couple of years. 

Classic modern Ribera nose earthy, smokey mulberry, blackberry, blackcurrant with an added touch of plum. A few shakes of  sage, a slurp of cola and a shot of espresso and anise.  You need to time this right if you’re going to see anything, it shuts up shop after a couple of hours in the decanter. Almost medium bodied with some raspy tannins until it builds with more air. The tannins open up soft and silky giving the wine a velvet mouthfeel. The acid keeps the structure  in the mouth and its all too easy to drink. It shows great intensity in the mouth, juicy mulberry, black current and blueberry with minerally sarsaparilla and spice. An uber long finish, which is great because I don’t want it to end. But after a good performance for a couple of hours, the shows over. So drink now if you want to see what all the fuss is about, but I’d give it 5 year in the cellar to sort it self out, then drink over the following 15. 96+ Pts.

Source: The Spanish Acquisition Price: $175 Closure: Conventional Cork