The French have never been short on self-regard—but then again, they have a lot of civilized achievements to crow about. Certainly Distinctive Vintages: Fine French Wines & Sprits (Flammarion, $200) does some justified preening: It exclusively covers the most famous wine properties owned by luxury juggernaut LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. The spotlightis on Château d’Yquem—the world’s most famous non-red from Bordeaux, a Sauternes dessert wine extraordinaire—as well as on some of the enduring names of Champagne: Moët & Chandon, Krug, Veuve Clicquot,Ruinart. The book, encased in a shiny gold cover, celebrates these grand old houses mostly in glossy pictures, some of them from advertisements;author Alain Stella contributes a short profile and history of each producer. The sumptuous details—like a butterfly that emerges froma page, as in a child’s pop-up book—show that not only have the French mastered the ancient art of wine making, they’ve also thoroughly conquered that formerly American province: le marketing.