There is pure, carnal pleasure in a big bite of succulent, crispy-skinned chicken washed down with a swig of elegant and luxurious Champagne. In my mind, this is one of the wine world’s most satisfying sensorial combinations, right up there alongside beloved classics like Chablis with oysters and cru Beaujolais beside holiday turkey.
     My grandmother is from Oklahoma, and it was tradition in her house to make southern fried chicken on Sundays for the whole extended family, a convivial weekly gathering of simple festivity and delicious, home-cooked food. I love the spirit of this concept, and I’ve recently begun recreating the Sunday chicken tradition once a month, giving it my own effervescent twist with a delectable Champagne pairing.
     Last month, I whipped up Chef Chris Lee’s Roasted Buttermilk Chicken—simple, infallible, and utterly delicious; find the recipe below—and popped the cork on a bottle of Nicolas Maillart’s “Platine.” I hesitate to quote a certain fast food colonel, but this superb combination was unequivocally finger lickin‘ good. Maillart is a brand new addition to our Champagne portfolio, and he’s crafting wines of incredible depth and lusciousness. If you’ve yet to experience them, you are in for a real treat with this premier cru: citrus blossom aromatics give way to buttery brioche on the palate, followed by stony and refreshing acidity enveloped in a fine, velvety mousse. This is Champagne made for the hedonist’s table.

Roasted Buttermilk Chicken
by Chef Christopher Lee
from the October 2013 Adventures Club bulletin

One 3½–4-pound chicken
2 tablespoons sea salt
3 cups buttermilk

Rub chicken with ½ tablespoon sea salt and chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Add remaining salt to buttermilk and stir to dissolve. Place chicken in a tall container, add buttermilk, and cover. (Use a marinating bag if you like.) Chill overnight. Next day, remove chicken from buttermilk and discard buttermilk. Truss chicken and place on a roasting rack. Roast in a 425º F oven for 20–25 minutes, until skin begins to brown. Turn rack 180 degrees and reduce heat to 390º F. Roast for 55–60 minutes more, until skin is well browned and bird tests 160º F deep in the thigh. Rest for 15 minutes before serving on a warm platter. 

A blend of four vintages plus a solera, this Bouzy-dominant blend of Pinot Noir with 2% still red and 1 gram of dosage is bright, expressive, incisive, and chalky.

This pure Pinot Noir from Villers introduces the trio of Blanc de Noirs that form the foundation of Nicolas’s range of single-vineyard bottlings presented on this page. Planted on a base of chalk, this is a dry, focused Champagne with real class.

Pure Pinot Meunier from Villers, from massal-selection vines planted in the 1970s, this impressive bottling shows great freshness and finesse allied with smooth, silky roundness and completed with a long, chalky finish. Gorgeous Champagne.

Pure Pinot Noir from the grand cru of Bouzy, a great terroir that makes its presence felt with a more structured and serious Champagne, built to age. I strongly recommend buying some to drink now and some for the cellar.