Wine With…Roast Chicken

Wine With. . . Roast Chicken

by Paul Lukacs and Marguerite Thomas

 The following five wines showed best from among the fourteen we tried recently with roast chicken–a fresh bird we bought at our local farmer’s market and cooked simply.  (Besides salt and pepper, the only thing we added was some fresh thyme stuffed under the skin).  Since it was a warm summer evening, we served it with corn on the cob.

 Some of the wines we tried–an Italian Merlot, a California Cabernet Franc, and a Sonoma County Zinfandel–while tasty on their own, simply proved too powerful for the chicken.  Others–especially an oak-aged Chardonnay and to our surprise a New Zealand Pinot Noir–displayed sweet flavors that seemed to clash with it.  (The Chardonnay, though, was yummy with the corn.)  Still others, for example an Argentinean Sauvignon Blanc, seemed too light.         

Selection

Approx. Price

Comments

Chateau Ste Michelle,

Columbia Valley

(Washington)

Semillon

2003

  $12

We were frankly surprised by what a good match this was.  The wine’s mellifluous quality helped to create a fine balance between the intensity of the Semillon flavors and the natural richness of the chicken (both the dark and the white meat). 

The wine picked up an unexpected–yet welcome–crispness on the finish.

Chehalem,

Willamette Valley

(Oregon)

Chardonnay “Inox”

2004

 $20

We tried a couple of oaky Chardonnays that completely overwhelmed the chicken, but this bright, fresh, un-oaked rendition from Oregon was a fine match for the bird.  And perhaps it was the minerality in this particular wine that emphasized the pungency of the thyme we’d tucked under the bird’s skin.

Georges DuBoeuf,

Cru Beaujolais

(France)

Brouilly

2004

(Imported by WJ Deutsch)

 $12 

 This pairing demonstrated just why the classic French marriage of roast chicken and Beaujolais is so popular.  The refreshing, fruity wine paired beautifully with the simple but satisfying flavors of the chicken.  It was as close to being in a Parisian bistro as an American back yard can get!

Jacobs Creek,

South Australia

(Australia)

Reserve Shiraz

2002

(Imported by Pernod Ricard)

  $12

With its dense purple color and concentrated fruit and vanilla flavors, we had expected this Aussie Shiraz to overwhelm the chicken as many of the other big reds we tried had.  Instead, the wine’s ultra-smooth tannins and soft texture provided a surprisingly toothsome link to the silky character of the chicken meat.  We were surprised–and delighted.

Saintsbury,

Carneros

(California)

Pinot Noir “Garnet”

2004

  $19

At first sip this very young wine tasted somewhat one-dimensional, but when paired with the chicken its flavors expanded across the palate like a peacock’s tail.  Delicate enough for the white meat, yet also robust enough to match the dark, it was indeed a savory match