Kumeu River, Ray's Road Pinot Noir, 2020 b2b-only Grand Cru grower Champagne hiding

Grand Cru grower Champagne hiding in plain sight: Pascal Doquet owns some of the choicest parcels in the Cote des Blancs

is known for creating character-driven Champagnes with a focus on Pinot Noir

This Tradition Brut leads with Ambonnay's prized Pinot Noir rounded out with Chardonnay

Unlike Vintage Port

higher corner of the appellation shaped more by the Apennines than the rest

Kumeu River, Ray's Road Pinot Noir, 2020 b2b-only Grand Cru grower Champagne hidingKumeu River is famous for benchmark New Zealand Chardonnay, but the Brajkovich family had bigger ideas when they bought the Ray's Road vineyard in Hawke's Bay outright in 2017. This is their only single vineyard Pinot Noir, off a limestone rich site originally planted as a joint venture that included a Sancerre grower. The result is bright and fragrant, with ripe cherry, a dry leaf savory edge, and a distinctive limestone cut running underneath. It's