Great Occasions Call for Great French Reds

Christmas and holiday dinners deserve a wine that is truly special. One of the best choices is Chateauneuf-du-Pape, France's most affordable great red wine.

Made from a blend of up to 13 grape varieties, this full-bodied wine from the southern Rhone valley can compete in mellow complexity and aging ability with the top wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux, at much lower prices (starting at $25).

Offering ultra-ripe, complex flavors of black fruit, pepper, Provencal herbs and cherry kirsch, Chateauneuf-du-Pape matches especially well with holiday recipes of beef, duck and goose. After dinner, it's one of the few dry reds that has the richness to be sipped with cheese or semisweet chocolate desserts.

Cotes-du-Rhone and Cotes-du-Rhone Villages, most of which is made in vineyards surrounding Chateauneuf-du-Pape, also can offer a good deal of style and are even more affordable. (Prices start at about $10.)

Prices are approximate. In addition to the contact information listed, resources for finding wines includehttp://www.winesearcher.comandhttp://www.wineaccess.com. Call stores to verify availability.

CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE

Chateau Mont Thabor 2003 Chateauneuf-du-Pape ($36; Jack Siler Selections, Country Vintner, 800-365-9463): Imbued with great perfume and intensity, this sumptuous wine rings with the flavors of ripe cherries, licorice and roasted Provencal herbs all the way through the long finish. An exceptional wine at its peak.

Domaine Berthet-Rayne 2005/2004 Chateauneuf-du-Pape ($25; Elite Wines Imports, 202-345-3623, lisa.giufre@elitewines.net): A joy to drink now even though still young; spicy on the nose, with pure, densely packed fruit on the palate. Great value.

Patrick Lesec 2004 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Pierres Dorees ($45; Constantine Wines, 410-309-9463, maggie_constantinewines@yahoo.com); Patrick Lesec 2004 Chateauneuf-du-Pape les Galets Blonds ($54): I slightly prefer the Pierres Dorees bottling over the more expensive Galets Blonds, but both are outstanding, with subtle oak and violet aromas and exceptionally deep fruit flavors.

Domaine Grand Veneur (Alain Jaume) 2004 Chateauneuf-du-Pape ($44; Kysela Pere et Fils Ltd., 540-722-9228); Alain Jaume 2003 Chateauneuf-du-Pape ($37): Focused, concentrated and long, the 2004 Grand Veneur offers currant and plum flavors highlighted by notes of wild herbs and anise. The 2003 Alain Jaume, from the same producer, offers the riper, more exotic fruit of that vintage.

Domaine de Monpertuis 2003 Chateauneuf-du-Pape ($41; Rosenthal Wine Merchant/Potomac Selections, 301-583-8844): Full-bodied, concentrated and deeply fruity, with exotic, complex notes of wild herbs and cherry/kirsch in the bouquet.