Gold for a wine that delighted most but confused a few.

'Honey, beeswax with a herbal twist on the nose, there's lots happening,' said The Tate Group's Hamish Anderson. ‘Marzipan sponge cake aromas with lemon butter notes on the palate,’ said team leader Angela Reddin, with Laurent Richet MS of Restaurant Sat Bains adding: ‘Some seashell aromas on an expressive nose, fresh straw on a savoury palate, funky in a good way. Lots of personality.’ That's for sure! What do you think?

£18.50 Whirly Wine

A blend of Viognier and Chenin Blanc with around 10% Grenache Blanc thrown in, this offers outstanding value, hence rapid elevation to Gold. While Rebecca Coates of Hakkasan London enjoyed its ‘stone fruit, peach and honey’ characters, Neil Bruce of Studio Alto highlighted its 'quite delicate, flinty minerality and limes, and dry, crisp, tangy, zesty, racy finish', and Richard Brooks of Caroline Catering noted: 'Attractive fruity aromas, lots of juicy fruit on the palate,' adding: 'It's a big, intense wine on the mid-palate, with warmth and development. A big wine at this price-point – love it!'

£5.52 New Generation Wines

Last year a Silver for the previous vintage, this year a Gold – well done d'Arenberg! ‘Aromas of bright tropical fruit, yellow flowers and peach, with lovely weight on the palate, good perfume and acidity, delicate and elegant,’ said impressed team leader Lara Rhys MS, with Neil Bruce of Studio Alto also enjoying its ‘restrained, crisp, delicate, spritzy balance’. Complex enough to cope with sushi and wasabi.

£10.40 Enotria&Coe

A wonderfully distinctive blend.

'Very intense on the nose, with quince, pear, apricot, and the white pepper brings the fruit to life. Yellow spice, bright acidity. Knockout!, ' said Morgan VanderKamer of Stanley's Dublin. ‘A well-made wine in its style, this has lots of new oak but well controlled, with ripe fruits and a fresh finish,’ began Enikő Heidenwolf of Bread Street Kitchen. ‘Melon and honey notes with an oily palate of spiced apple, honey and lanolin, with a crisp apple finish,’ added team leader Tom Forrest. Pair with pork or Vietnamese dishes.

£8.45 Boutinot

‘Fresh, ripe and spicy with yellow fruit aromas, rich, juicy palate with fleshy plums and gentle spice notes,’ said Neil Bruce of Studio Alto about this wine, made with the rare Bukettraube grape – less than 100ha are left in the world. The Gilbert Scott’s Riccardo Guzzardo noted: ‘White table grape freshness, crisp acidity with a little sweetness on the finish.’

£8.50 Bancroft Wines

‘Bright tropical fruit, good acidity, with lime and lime flowers on the palate. A crowd-pleaser for the price,’ said team leader Laura Rhys MS, with Neil Bruce of Studio Alto noting: ‘Restrained, gently spicy with crisp, tangy limes.'
Morgan VanderKamer of Stanley's Dublin said: 'With its grassy notes alongside the tropical, guava hints, this has a good balance.'

£5.84 Enotria&Coe

'Another fascinating South African blend – Chenin Blanc, Roussanne, Chardonnay and Viognier – this is deliciously classy but still young,' said team leader Angela Reddin, adding: 'Baked grapefruit with honey and orchard flower aromas.'
‘Richer palate with floral blossom, acacia notes and spice, toasty hints on a fresh, lemon/lime finish,’ said fellow team leader Tom Forrest.

£12.88 Majestic Commercial

‘Soft, appley nose, hints of white flowers, very gentle aromas. Lovely stone fruit in the mouth, with medium acidity but good body and length,' said team leader Angela Reddin. ‘Ripe pear and mango with rounded oily texture,’ added Ram Chhetri of Bread Street Kitchen.

£5.40 Bottle Green

‘Green apple and white pepper on the nose, with a riper fruit palate, elegant and balanced, fruity with good acidity. Good by the glass,’ said Laurent Richet MS of Restaurant Sat Bains. ‘Fresh, sharp minerality for easy drinking,’ added Ram Chhetri of Bread Street Kitchen.

£7.49 Hatch Mansfield

£11.40 Liberty Wines

£11.40 Liberty Wines

£13.92 Bibendum

£11.50 Boutinot

£9.32 Sogrape UK