Spanish investable fine wines are often sadly overlooked in the fine wine game. Pingus, however, is the exception to the rule. Like a good xxx or a classic xxxx, this is one producer that deserves its international status. Do not be fooled by its quirky name, Pingus is as serious as Spanish fine wine gets.

Named after estate owner Peter Sisseck’s childhood nickname, Dominio de Pingus was founded in Ribera del Duero in 1995 by Sisseck, a man who had his first sip of wine aged eight (a 1961 Château d'Issan, no less!). Sisseck had moved to Spain from his native Denmark in 1990 to manage a small parcel of land belonging to the Ribera Del Duero sherry estate. Five years later, he stumbled across an old vineyard “by luck” in the sub-region of La Horra. Not only did the clay/limestone soil offer excellent drainage but there were remnants of vines planted in 1929. Sisseck immediately bought the estate and the same year released 325 cases of ultra-powerful Tempranillo. “I knew within 25 seconds of blind tasting that we'd import the wine, despite its weird name", says British wine emporium Corney and Barrow's managing director, Adam Brett-Smith. Brett-Smith arranged a tasting with the hugely influential Robert Parker (this being the 1990s was Parker’s time to shine) who gave it his highest possible score. It was sold on entry into the market at €15; prices in 2019 are now well over €1,200 a bottle.

Like many great things, Pingus divides opinion. There are those that simply adore the dense fruity taste, while others won’t touch it. Whether you like it or not, Pingus comes at a price. In Q2 2019, an average bottle of Pingus was €800, with vintages such as the 2004 or 2014 stretching well into the thousands. But if you're really looking for a trophy then 1995 is the fine wine investor’s holy grail. Almost 20% of the vintage is now at the bottom of the Atlantic when the container ship that was exporting 75 cases to America sunk (500 cases of Premier Cru Chateaux Lafitte were also lost). With a production of just 500 cases annually, we will let you do the maths to work out how covetable that particular vintage has become. If you’re looking for a more pocket-friendly wine that is as good to drink as to keep, we suggest navigating towards Pingu’s second wine, Flor de Pingus.