WTN: Bubbles with a bird

For the Fourth, Andrea went back to an awfully good buttermilk-and-tabasco-marinated oven-fried chicken recipe that she hasn't made in a while, and we decided to pair it with Champagne. René Geoffroy NV Champagne 1er Cru, "Expression" Brut (assemblage 2011/2012). 50% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Meunier, and 10% Chardonnay, purchased on sale for $30, and good value at that price. Fairly rich red fruit balanced by crispness, a bit of minerality, suave, medium body and length. This won't win any prizes for complexity, but it's a good pairing, and it's enjoyable enough to ring the "we should really drink more Champagne" bell.

Fried chicken (hot or not) and Champagne are pretty classic (though I usually go rose).
No matter how much I drink, "we should really drink more Champagne" is a constant theme

I would've too, but I didn't have any rosé bubbles in the house, so went with the highest concentration of Pinot(s) available among the three bottles on hand!

Used to drink more Champagne but it was never an area where I felt like I knew my way around, so relied on a handful of producers I knew I liked -- at the time, especially blanc de noirs and rosés from Bouzy and Ambonnay, like Bara, Clouet, and Egly-Ouriet -- but those have gotten quite expensive. I've got bottles from a few new-to-me producers to try -- the Geoffroy, Pierre Gerbais, Laherte (had in a restaurant & loved), Ardinat-Faust.

Always more to learn and enjoy.

The NV Clouet brut rose GC at $45 (Hi Time, CA) is my favorite QPR of Bouzy bubbles.

Agreed -- though when I see it in Chicago I think it runs $50. But that was the first Clouet I ever had, a dozen or so years ago, and I've always really enjoyed it.