We sometimes hesitate when reaching for bottles of Pinot Noir alone, as this grape variety has reached a dominance in the world of red wine that really is a bit disproportionate to its fame (like, not everything has to be Burgundy, people, c’mon). That said, what happens when this variety is planted in the sublimely mixed and potent patchwork of soil types across Alsace is really something that intrigues. Here’s a striking and expressive example from Julien Albertus, vigneron of Kumpf et Meyer, who draws his Pinot from clay-calcaire soils around Molsheim, raising this wine for one year in a mix of foudre and steel. The results are stirring: smoke, flint, blackberry and red berries, something gray-and-fuschia toned, mysterious and warm. An exceptional natural issue of this variety.