This month's recommended wines

August 2006

Domaine Gérard Thomas et Filles Saint-Aubin Premier Cru Murgers des Dents de Chien 2004 Burgundy
It's a slightly pricier selection all round this month, and we kick of with a bold white Burgundy. Really lovely, full rich toasty nose which is bold and full with a subtle herbiness. The palate is powerful and weighty with good structure, lots of concentration and some herbiness. Quite a bit of oak evident. Certainly a big wine, but one with real appeal. Very good/excellent 92/100 (£14.99 Waitrose)

Frog’s Leap Zinfandel 2003 Napa, California
76% Zinfandel with 19% Petite Syrah, 4% Carignan and 1% Napa Gamay. Cold soaked before fermentation and aged in American oak. This has a deliciously open nose of ripe red fruits with a herby, tobbacoey edge. Ripe and rich. The palate is lively with lovely vivid open fruit and some nice spicy structure. A delicious wine that is sweet, full and quite complex, and carries its 14.9% alcohol well. Very good/excellent 93/100 (£20 Waitrose Inner Cellar branches)

Veigadares Alabrino 2002 Rias Baixas, Spain
This white is a bit wacky, but it’s lovely. Quite deep coloured, it has a lovely luscious tropical fruit nose with a subtle green herby edge. Really full, unusual and appealing. Vivid concentrated fruit on the palate with a bold tropical richness. A striking rich wine with a sweet spicy finish. Very good/excellent 93/100 (£12.98 Corney & Barrow)

Domaine de la Sansonnière (Mark Angeli) Anjou Blanc Les Fourchardes 2002 Loire
Quite a deep colour. Full, complex savoury nose of cheese, herbs, nuts and apples. The palate is savoury and deep with complex notes of warm apple and herb together with some sweetness, although the overall impression is of a dry wine. Very thought-provoking. Very good/excellent 92/100 (£19.35 Jeroboams)

Patrick Javillier Meursault ‘Les Tillets’ 2002 Burgundy, France
A top class white Burgundy from Javillier, one of the stars of Meursault. This is wonderful stuff: a savoury, tight minerally nose leads to a precise, crisp palate with bright acidity and good focus. It’s a little tight right now, but should age wonderfully. Very good/excellent 92/100 (£26 Jeroboams, Berry Bros & Rudd)

Eben Sadie Sequillo 2003 Malmesbury, South Africa
If you can’t afford Eben Sadie’s fantastic Columella red wine, then why not try his Sequillo. It’s still not cheap, but it’s pretty good stuff. A blend of Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache, it offers a perfumed, sweet nose of red fruits with some meatiness in the background. The palate is smooth and ripe with lovely freshness to the fruit, backed up by some savoury spiciness. This is delicious for current drinking. Very good/excellent 92/100 (£15 Jeroboams, Richards Walford)

Nieve Barbaresco Cru Serraboella 2000 Cigliuti, Italy
A lovely complex Italian red, showing perfumed, fresh sweet edged spicy red fruits on the nose. The palate is structured and expressive with dense, full, spicy red fruits. Bold and intense with a long future ahead of it: a fantastic wine. Very good/excellent 94/100 (£36.75 Berry Bros & Rudd)

Churchill’s Late Bottle Vintage Port 1999 Portugal
It’s rare that I actually have to decant an LBV, but this unfiltered beauty from Churchill really needs it. It’s sweet, dark, concentrated and spicy with nice aromatics and relatively firm tannic structure. This is pretty serious, and probably has the potential to improve with a few years cellaring. Interestingly, 1999 wasn’t a vintage year in the Douro (it was tricky), but the Niepoort and Noval LBVs have also really impressed from this year, too. Very good/excellent 91/100 (£12.50 Andrew Chapman, www.surf4wine.co.uk)

My rating system explained. Use www.wine-searcher.com to locate a stockist in your area and my directory of UK wine merchants for details of those listed here. See also: the wineanorak's shopping list - recommended wines from each of the main UK retail outlets. These recommendations are truly independent: I don't accept payment or other favours for inclusions, nor do I sell wine.

E-mail me with your recommendations or suggestions at jamie@wineanorak.co.uk