Domaine Bechtold, Engelberg Pinot Gris 'Comme un Rouge' Alsace Grand Cru

It is one thing to play with a batch of Pinot Gris from a lesser-known site; to convert a portion of grand cru fruit in such a manner requires a more substantial level of commitment. With three weeks of skin contact, the “Comme un Rouge” (“like a red”) shows up Pinot Gris for the dark-skinned “white” grape it is so often produced and marketed as. Looking more like a dark rosé in the glass, this possesses an elemental sense of limestone, with notes of dates, macerated cherries, and exotic botanicals, as well as a clinging and driving finish of stunning purity. Jean-Marie aged this for one year in used Burgundy barrels purchased from his old classmate and friend Regis Forey; no sulfur was added at all during the elevage.