Balance with pleasing freshness – at a very fair price – made this the standout.

'Juicy, rich, ripe fruit with an attractive warmth in the mid-palate and a dash of red savoury fruit,' said Richard Brooks of Caroline Catering, concluding: 'Great value – a versatile food wine.'
Big on tannin, with a youthful, cedary character plus notes of black fruit. Team leader Richard Bampfield MW said: 'Mellow, with a good, ripe, clarety nose. Try with delicate Pauillac lamb.'

£8.19 Bibendum

With bright fruit, good freshness and balanced tannins, the obvious food-friendliness of this Gold shone brightly. ‘A well-crafted, plush wine with pretty spicy oak,’ said consultant Sam Caporn MW, with The Jugged Hare’s Guillaume Mahaut adding: ‘Perfumed nose, fresh and young but concentrated. Velvety, nice mouthfeel.’ 'Really enjoyable. This would be fab with steak or lamb,' said Ram Chhetri of Bread Street Kitchen.

£18.50 Boutinot

With an almost Margaux-like elegance, this wine entranced all.

'Fine-scented with really good depth of flavour, this is really good,' said team leader Richard Bampfield MW, suggesting lighter red meats, veal, or even duck. ‘Good cedar and cherry fruit aromas, quite soft on the palate, with peppery notes, nice length and structure,’ said consultant Sam Caporn MW. ‘Deep and dense, with strong oak influence,’ added team leader Angela Reddin.

£20.69 Bibendum

Plums and pencils for this popular wine.

'Good mouthfeel, well structured and well made,' said Ram Chhetri of Bread Street Kitchen, suggesting steak or braised beef as the perfect matches. ‘Some cherry and redcurrant with nice spice notes,’ began consultant Sam Caporn MW, concluding: ‘I like the structure and flavours, very refreshing.’ ‘Fresh and lively, with sweet plum and blueberries, lovely intensity,’ added The Jugged Hare’s Guillaume Mahaut.

£12.54 Thorman Hunt & Co

‘Ripe, tropical fruit sweetness with fresh acidity, quite textured and balanced,’ began team leader Annette Scarfe MW, with consultant sommelier Christophe Richelet noting: ‘Oily mouthfeel, very soft, with lots of peachy notes.’ Perfect with a seafood platter.

£8.99 Enotria&Coe

'Juicy, lovely rounded wine,' began Roger Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn, continuing: 'Soft and delicate plummy, violet fruits with spicy notes. Creamy but oaky, rich and textured.'
'Quite rich, with a nice aftertaste of plum,' added Lukasz Walkowiak of Oxo Tower Restaurant.

£19.96 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

'Beautiful, stylish Bordeaux with lovely oak, soft, delicate and lingering plum crumble-and-cream flavours, spiced and elegant with great texture. Very good,' said Roger Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn.

£24.40 Jean Juviniere

Team leader Annette Scarfe MW highlighted the ‘delicate use of oak’ in this ‘complex, elegant and sophisticated’ example, while Vittorio Gentile of Theo Randall at The InterContinental Hotel enjoyed its ‘floral, intense and complex palate’.

£10.75 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Supple, linear and long,’ began Christine Parkinson of Hakkasan Group, continuing: ‘Black fruit, leafy, floral and gravelly, with gently dry tannins and real Bordeaux character.’ ‘Good structure, medium intensity, with bell pepper, liquorice and cassis notes,’ added Luigi Buonanno of Bianco43.

£10.75 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Nice redcurrant fruit with some earthy, loamy notes, good fruit/acid structure and very nice length,’ began team leader Angela Reddin, with consultant Sam Caporn MW adding: ‘Restrained red fruit, crunchy and lifted, with some gentle spice.’

£9.11 Borough Wines

‘Earthy, deep nose with good ripeness of fruit, blackcurrant character and a dusty, rustic style,’ said Guillaume Mahaut of The Jugged Hare. ‘Bramble and berry fruit with some good concentration and elegance,’ added team leader Angela Reddin.

£12.30 Liberty Wines

‘Classic style, with bright, citrus freshness with green capsicum notes,’ said Mya Brown of Vinoteca Marylebone, with consultant sommelier Christophe Richelet adding: ‘Fresh-cut grass and elderflower notes with a mineral tang.’

£7.63 Matthew Clark

‘Tobacco and cedar tea chest on the nose, the palate opens with some gorgeous dark berry fruits complemented by sinewy tannins and a classy mineral long finish,’ said impressed team leader Angela Reddin.

£14.99 Matthew Clark

'A well-structured, serious wine style, showing blackcurrant and plum notes with violet hints,’ said consultant Donald Edwards, with consultant Sam Caporn MW adding: ‘Cherry kirsch notes, big structure and flavour. Unusual, but I like it.’

£18.41 Enotria&Coe

‘Simply delicious,’ declared Guillaume Mahaut of The Jugged Hare, adding: ‘Concentrated plum and violet characters with balance, on a vibrant palate of bright red berries and tight structure.’ ‘Nice supple structure and cherry bomb finish,’ added consultant Sam Caporn MW.

£23.04 Enotria&Coe

‘Quite classic, with tight fruit and spicy notes, and an elegant length and structure,’ said consultant Sam Caporn MW. ‘Earthy, forest floor perfumed notes, with sweet red fruit character and generous tannins,’ added The Jugged Hare’s Guillaume Mahaut.

£19.79 Matthew Clark

£7.94 Bibendum

£14.36 Matthew Clark

£11.79 Forth Wines, R.W Randalls, The Oxford Wine Company

£13.02 Matthew Clark

£12.00 Molson Coors

£6.25 Boutinot

£13.60 Boutinot

£10.00 Bibendum