Burgundy makes it an occasion

YOU’VE planned an impressive dinner and look forward to spending a day chopping and roasting and sauteing, polishing glasses and setting the table. It’s Christmas Eve dinner, after all, and you’re pulling out all the stops.

Such a special meal requires a special wine. You could go with a stately Bordeaux, a smoky Central Coast Syrah or an earthy Ribera del Duero. But there are few wines more elegant -- and more suited to such a celebration -- than red Burgundy from the Cote de Nuits in France. The Cote is the heart and soul of Pinot Noir, the place where the grape originated more than a thousand years ago, where it has always possessed a particular, supple, mineral-tinged muscularity, what local Burgundy wine writer Allen Meadows describes as “power without weight.”

“They have punch,” Meadows explains, “but they’re deceptively light.”

They can pack a pretty good punch in the pocketbook as well. The Cote de Nuits is home to some of the world’s most fabled vineyards, grand crus such as Echezeaux, Chambertin, Bonnes-Mares and La Tache, which, owing to their history and rarity, have always commanded stratospheric prices. Many other wines in the region follow suit. But if you know where to look, you can find a fine special-occasion wine that won’t cost an arm and a leg -- or maybe just a leg.

Five that shine

THE Cote de Nuits is composed of many villages (communes)that are part of the AOC or appellation system, and each offers its own particular form of seduction. But only five -- Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne Romanee, Chambolle-Musigny, Gevrey-Chambertin and Morey-Saint-Denis -- are home to both grand cru and premier cru vineyards, sites where a special combination of soil type, sun exposition and climate have demonstrated a distinct and consistent typicity of expression over hundreds of years. These five communes have come to define the Cote.

Few wines are more consistently enthralling and seductive, few regions offer more complexity, more range of expression in the glass, with subtle, evocative aromas, building on a core of red fruit with exotic scents such as forest floor, shiitake mushroom, pipe tobacco, sage, mint, rose petal, anise, carob, thyme, pepper and loam. Their flavors, meanwhile, define the Japanese concept of umami perhaps better than any other wine: earthy, smoky, darkly spicy. But it is their texture that will keep you coming back for more. Few wines are more sensual and supple, with soft, velvety tannins that have contour and grace.

Premier cru or grand cru status almost always ensures a special wine, but you’re going to pay for it. It’s rare to find a premier cru for less than $50. But it’s still possible to find compelling, less-expensive options if you know how and where to look. Here are some strategies.

Go village without cru. In all five communes there are other reputable vineyards beside those given top cru status. But a village wine, one labeled Chambolle-Musigny, for example, may come from a vineyard that isn’t a designated cru, or it may be blended from more than one vineyard. These bottlings may not be quite up to the pedigree of premier cru but are nevertheless expressive of the village and are relatively good values. Look especially for labels that indicate vieilles vignes (old vines); this often means the site has consistently produced wines of special character.

Go with negociants. A handful of large wine merchants operate in Burgundy like brokers, purchasing fruit, juice, must and even wine from smaller growers and combining these into blends. Reputable negociants such as Bouchard Pere & Fils, Joseph Drouhin, Louis Jadot and Domaine Faiveley capitalize on their buying power to produce blended village wines or even blended premier cru village wines, which can often mean you’re getting a lot of wine for the money (you can pick up a 2002 Maison Louis Latour Marsannay for about $16). Jadot and Faiveley have particularly fine holdings in the Cote de Nuits.

Stray from the center. Several “lesser” villages outside of the five main Cote communes produce excellent wines that are still expressive of the region. Typically you’ll find them labeled Cote de Nuits-Villages or Hautes-Cote de Nuits, and they can be beautiful wines. A few outlying villages to the north, such as Fixin and Marsannay, are generally more affordable than the central villages. These tend to be lighter but in many cases approach Cote character and pedigree. Indeed it may be an opportunity to taste a relatively affordable wine from a producer whose wines are normally out of reach, like the delicious 2003 Fixin from Mongeard-Mugneret, which sells for about $37, or the 1999 Bourgogne Rouge made by the great Lalou Bize-Leroy, with a healthy amount of Cote de Nuits fruit, about $33.

Consider vintage, but don’t let it rule your purchase. Few wines in France are more vintage-driven than red Burgundy. Pinot Noir, after all, is hugely sensitive to the vagaries of weather, which can be extreme in such a cool place. And yet there are so many variables in Burgundy -- soils, micro-climates, orientation to the sun, elevations -- that some think that across-the-board vintage declarations are practically meaningless. “I tell people that you should take your standard vintage chart and throw it in the trash,” says Meadows, who spends several months a year in Burgundy, evaluating vintages, producers and wines for his wine journal, Burghound. “When it comes to Burgundy, they absolutely misguide people. The same weather will have completely different effects depending on where the vineyard is located and how it’s facing the sun.”

Those variations partly explain why opening a red Burgundy, especially a young one, can feel like a risky venture. Few Burgundian experiences are more sublime than the proper alignment of vintage and place, but there are times when you taste a young wine and say, “Gosh, I wish I’d met you when we were both a little older.” You see the beauty in the wine, but its potential is still years from optimal, and all you’re left with is a fuzzy picture of what might have been.

The two most recent vintages, 2003 and 2004, could not be more different. 2003s are unusually generous and powerful, but not particularly subtle -- and completely atypical for this reason. The 2004s are much more balanced wines, but they’re still a bit reticent, their acids still a touch shrill. With food, however, even a young wine will feel more generous and smooth, and your palate will be refreshed by the wine’s rippling texture.

Wines with poise

FORTUNATELY, there are plenty of older vintages with which to experiment. It’s not difficult to pick up a 4-, 6- or 8-year-old wine, at prices that are often more reasonable than those of recent vintages. Indeed, the older wines I’ve had in recent weeks are marvelously balanced and delicate, such as the 2000 Nuits-St.-Georges Premier Cru “Les Porets Saint Georges” from Faiveley and the softly textured, gently earthy 1998 Gevrey-Chambertin from Bachelet.

Best of all, an older wine is going to have the kind of poise that pairs especially well with long-roasted meat and fowl; those beautiful earth and umami flavors are more pronounced, that characteristic mineral tinge becomes gentler and finer, and the wines seem almost to take the meal in a warm embrace, endowing the occasion with yet another, more graceful dimension.

food@latimes.com

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Smart buys from the Cote de Nuits

Because there are hundreds of producers in Burgundy, none of whom make much of any one wine, sourcing specific Cote de Nuits is a tricky business. However, you can expect better wine shops to have a well-considered, hand-picked selection. The wines below are arranged by vintage. In the Cote de Nuits an older vintage is often a good bet; ask your wine merchant which are drinking well. All will benefit from opening half an hour to an hour before serving, and many wines, especially the younger ones, will merit gentle decanting.

2004 Frederic Magnien Morey-Saint-Denis “Ruchots.” A relatively affordable premier cru from Les Ruchots, a tiny vineyard in Morey-Saint-Denis. Reticent at first, it soon offers aromas of smoke, dried meat, rye bread, cinnamon and mocha; bright red raspberry fruit shines through. Luminously pure, with a long, mildly bitter black tea finish that suggests a long life. Available at the Wine House in West Los Angeles, (310) 479-3731, and Woodland Hills Wine Co. in Woodland Hills, (818) 222-1111; about $48.

2004 Louis Jadot Gevrey-

Chambertin. This wine, from Jadot’s estimable stable of village wines, leads with aromas of wild cherries, violets, bergamot, even a dusting of white pepper. Crisply tailored, generous and open, with spiced cherry flavors and a velvety texture, it shows tremendous poise for a 2004. Available at Wally’s Wine & Spirits in Los Angeles, (310) 475-0606; about $40.

2004 Olivier Jouan Hautes-Cote de Nuits Vieilles Vignes Bourgogne. A deep-colored wine drawn from old vine fruit, and it tastes like it -- robust and spicy. It’s a bit slow to open; decanting is recommended. Aromas of black cherries, Earl Grey tea, a touch of anise and deep, rich flavors with cocoa notes. Quite substantial for a village wine, with a pretty texture and an almost leathery finish. Available at Larchmont Village Wine, Spirits & Cheese, (323) 856-8699; about $21.

2003 Domaine Mongeard-

Mugneret Fixin. Wonderfully warm and spicy, with aromas of walnut, carob, cherry preserves. Like most 2003s, it’s ample and fleshy on the palate, but you’ll appreciate its soft, generous dark red cherry flavors. Clean and velvety. Available at Du Vin Wine & Spirits in West Hollywood, (310) 855-1161; about $37.

2003 Domaine de Chevalier Cote de Nuits-Villages. From the forward 2003 vintage, this wine leads with aromas of tar, brown bread and gingerbread spice. Its fruit flavors are equally dark -- juicy black cherry and plum, not edgy but soft, plush and deep-bodied. Available at Larchmont Village Wine, Spirits & Cheese; about $30.

2002 Maison Louis Latour Marsannay. At first pass, little more than barnyard and earth aromas, with a hint of wild strawberry. That earthiness blows off and a dark, caramelized red cherry flavor emerges, accented by mocha, clove and chai spice; it still has a nice prickle of acidity for an older wine. Light, mildly astringent, it fairly begs for food. Available at Du Vin; about $16.

2000 Faiveley Nuits-St.-Georges Premier Cru “Les Porets Saint Georges.” Slow to open, but when it does it yields lovely loamy aromas, with dried leaves, anise, pepper and dried cherry. That Nuits rusticity is in evidence, with a broad, gripping texture that arrests the mouth without holding it hostage. Available at Vendome Liquors in Beverly Hills, (310) 276-9463; about $51.

1999 Leroy Bourgogne Rouge. From one of the best-known domaines in Burgundy, this older-vintage Bourgogne, composed largely of Cote de Nuits fruit, has just entered the market and is very much alive. Gentle, nuanced, lively and pure, with a soft cherry essence and a touch of rose, though not much complexity. Available at Wine Exchange in Orange, (714) 974-1454 and John & Pete’s Fine Wines & Spirits in West Hollywood, (310) 657-3080, about $25.

1998 Domaine Bachelet Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes. If you want to taste the earth, that terroir the French love, this is your wine. At first pass it’s like walking into a cave filled with forest mushrooms. But with some air, those earthy qualities give way to a delicate cherry scent, and flavors such as forest floor, beef tea, dried tomato and cherry pie. Its texture is firm, yet very gentle, its finish spicy. Available at Wine House, about $45.

-- Patrick Comisky