Peter Sisseck: the Spanish star oenologist from Denmark

It is fair to say that exceptional wine is in Peter Sisseck's genes. Born in Copenhagen in 1962, the Dane is the nephew of the legendary winemaker Peter Vinding-Diers. Sisseck also has his uncle to thank for his passion for wine - and the basis of his skills as an oenologist.

In 1983, Peter Sisseck was trained by his uncle Vinding-Diers himself at Château Rahoul in the Bordeaux appellation of Graves. Sisseck was just 21 years old at the time - and of course had no idea that he would one day become the maker of one of the most famous wines in the world with Pingus. Or that he himself would be celebrated as a star oenologist all over the world. To understand this success, it is worth taking a closer look at Peter Sisseck's vinophile roots.

First oenological spurs and the fateful year 1990

Thanks to his uncle, the native Dane has almost always had close ties with Bordeaux. Sisseck soaked up Peter Vinding-Diers' knowledge like a sponge for a year and a half. This time, during which he learnt the different Bordeaux wine styles inside out, would later shape his own style as a winemaker. But in 1984, the young man first returned to Copenhagen, where he studied agriculture and became an agricultural engineer, before moving to California for a while, where he worked at the Simi winery with oenologist Zelma Long. She too would later become a legend. But before she finally caused a stir at Simi, Peter Sisseck returned to Bordeaux. This time he signed on at Château de Landiras in Graves, where his uncle was now the oenologist. It was here that Sisseck finally honed his skills as a winemaker.

And then came the fateful year of 1990, when Sisseck actually wanted to return to California. To Ridge Vineyards, to be precise. His dream was to one day be responsible for a wine icon such as Monte Bello - the great Bordeaux blend from the New World. No sooner had his application to Paul Draper been sent out than an enquiry arrived that would change Peter Sisseck's life forever. It came from the Hacienda de Monasterio in the Ribera del Duero. He was asked whether he could imagine rebuilding the winery as technical director. Sisseck didn't hesitate for a second. It was exactly the kind of challenge he had been looking for!

Peter Sisseck: Old vines, new wine icon

So Tempranillo instead of Cabernet Sauvignon! Sisseck moved to Spain - and arrived directly in a not so pleasant reality. The Hacienda de Monasterio, located between Pesquera and Valbuena de Duero, had just one vineyard in 1990. There was neither money nor sufficient technology to quickly raise the winery to the next level. But the Spaniards were very welcoming to Peter Sisseck. And perhaps even more importantly, the young oenologist immediately fell in love with the potential of the red Tempranillo grape variety. He gradually found vineyards that met his requirements and expanded the Hacienda de Monasterio, of which he is still the manager today, to an impressive 78 hectares of vineyards.

Just two years after his arrival on the Duero, Peter Sisseck's next moment of destiny followed. In the La Horra region, he discovered two small vineyards in San Cristobal and Barrosso with 70-year-old Tempranillo vines that had never seen any fertilisers or pesticides in their lives because the farmers in the region simply could not afford synthetic plant protection. Sisseck bought both plots. Not for the Hacienda de Monasterio, however, but for himself. These ancient and uninfluenced vines were exactly what he had been looking for to do his own thing. He was sure that the few grapes would produce a superb quality of wine. Then, in 1995, the certainty: yes, the wine he made from the grapes was good. Really, really good. He gave it the name Pingus - his own nickname from school days. But then came a bitter disappointment

Peter Sisseck and the beginnings of Pingus

Even before he bottled the first vintage, he offered 4,000 bottles to a Spanish wine merchant. But he didn't want the wine. The price was far too high - and he wouldn't pay this horrendous sum to a Dane. Ouch! But Peter Sisseck was firmly convinced of the quality of Pingus. But what should he do if nobody wanted to sell him? He consulted his uncle in Bordeaux. He was also enthusiastic about the quality. As were other family members and friends in the Bordelais.

Together they decided that the Pingus should be offered en primeur. In other words, the wine should be sold before bottling. And for 135 francs a bottle - the equivalent of 20.60 euros. An absolute bargain when you consider that the wine would quickly cost over 800 euros - and still does. This made Pingus the most expensive Spanish wine ever for years. But how did this rapid rise in value and the hype surrounding the growth come about virtually overnight? Two very special circumstances are responsible for this.

Firstly, Peter Sisseck decided to send a few barrel samples to wine critics. It is well known that points - especially high ones - do not hurt when marketing a wine. One bottle was also sent to Maryland in the United States - to none other than Robert Parker himself. And he was immediately impressed. In his Wine Advocate, he wrote: "I am absolutely serious when I say that this is probably the greatest young red wine from Spain that I have ever tasted." He gave the Pingus 96-100 points right off the bat. And that as a barrel sample! A short time later, he gave the bottled wine a final score of 98 points. The two critics René Gabriel and Stephen Tanzer even gave the wine their highest scores. That was the birth of the Icon wine. Suddenly everyone wanted the Pingus. Peter Sisseck sold the first vintage within two days.

Of the 325 cases, 75 were to be shipped to the United States. But the ship sank off the Azores and the wines remain at the bottom of the Atlantic to this day. This was the birth of the legend known as Pingus. Time and again, this icon has been awarded top marks by the world's wine critics - and is highly sought after by collectors around the globe.

Peter Sisseck and the Flor de Pingus

In order to keep up with demand, Peter Sisseck and his importer from the United States decided to make a second wine: Flor de Pingus. In 1999, he leased half of the Villacreces finca, including the cellar, and produced the little Pingus brother there until 2003. In the meantime, he founded his own winery, Dominio de Pingus, and bought more vineyards in La Horra. This enabled him to increase the production volume of Flor de Pingus from 6,000 to 100,000 bottles - with the second wine already costing over 100 euros. Like the Grand Vin, the Flor de Pingus also radiates enormous power and elegance as well as impressive depth. However, the sparse stone notes with their purist, delicate precision are reserved for the Pingus alone.

Sisseck is also bottling a small quantity of 280 bottles of another wine exclusively for its American importer. This is called Amelia and comes from a small plot planted in 1895. Like all of Peter Sisseck's other vineyards, this parcel is also consistently cultivated according to biodynamic principles. The Pingus PSI wine, which Peter Sisseck markets under the Bodegas y Viñedos Alnardo label, is not quite as exclusive as Pingus or Amelia, but still meets the highest quality standards. The grapes come from contract winegrowers in the north and east of Aranda de Duero. Sisseck's actual intention behind the wine was to save the region's old vines by offering the winegrowers an economic perspective.

To this day, he not only pays good prices for the grapes, but also advises the families with his accumulated expertise. He even founded a viticulture school specifically to pass on his expertise. Today, 500 winegrowers cultivate 841 parcels of land for the PSI, from which 320,000 bottles are sold on the market every year at a very fair price. The wine itself shines with a typical Tempranillo fruitiness, which is paired with enormous depth and concentration due to the old vines.

Peter Sisseck and Château Rocheyron

Despite his strong commitment to the Ribera del Duero, Peter Sisseck has also maintained close contacts with Bordeaux over the years. Not least because of his uncle. He also continued to present his Pingus to international experts during the En Primeur week there. He was and still is a close friend of Jean-Luc Thunevin from Château Valandraud. Thunevin is regarded as one of the great pioneers of the so-called Garagiste movement in Saint-Émilion, which caused a sensation at the same time as Pingus. Peter Sisseck was always drawn to the Bordelais.

No wonder he has been working there as an oenologist since 2010. Since then, he has been running Château Rocheyron in Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes in the Saint-Émilion appellation together with the Swiss Silvio Denz, whom he met in his role as a consultant oenologist at the Catalonian wine estate Clos d'Agon. For Sisseck, this was the fulfilment of yet another passion. Namely, to produce a classic growth that is fully committed to the Bordeaux tradition with all its flavours. However, the elegant and precise Sisseck signature can be recognised with every sip.

New sherry icon from Sisseck

Now there was only one thing missing from Peter Sisseck's repertoire. A white wine. Because all his icons were consistently red wines. In Sisseck's opinion, a white wine needs the right terroir. And that was not to be found for his project in the Ribera del Duero. In Jerez, however, it was. You guessed it: Sisseck wanted to make a sherry! In 2017, he teamed up with Carlos del Rio González-Gordon from the González Blass sherry dynasty, with whom he has also run the Hacienda de Monasterio since 1992. The two wine legends acquired around ten hectares of vineyards in Pago Balbaína, not far from El Puerto de Santa Maria, and took over the Fino Camborio solare from Angel Zamorano of Bodegas Juan Piñero.

The oenological advisor is the legendary Ramiro Ibáñez, who selected the best 65 botas for the creation of the new Fino Camborio. In 2020, the first Sherry Dino Via Corrales from the joint project, now called Bodega San Francisco Javier, was launched on the market - and it immediately scored 96 Parker points. As you can see: Whether Ribera del Duero, Jerez or Bordeaux, sherry or red wine - Peter Sisseck simply doesn't do things by halves!