Some very good values under the negociant label include the Alain Jaume 2006 Cotes du Ventoux Les Gelinottes. This is a classic French vin de plaisir. Soft, lovely, not complex, but with medium body and loads of fruit, this is a pretty example of a wine meant for drinking, not introspection. Readers need to differentiate between the estate wines, which appear under the “Domaine Grand Veneur” name, and the burgeoning number of high quality negociant wines made by this producer, which are bottled under the name “Alain Jaume.” First the estate wines: these two brilliant vintages for Jaume continue an almost unbroken record of highly successful wines that goes back well over a decade (and they are still fairly priced). This is definitely a modernist take on Chateauneuf du Pape, but the wines never lose the soul and typicity of Provence. They are impeccably well-made, pure, and deeply colored.Importer: Kysela Pere et Fils, Winchester, VA; tel. (540) 722-9228