Balance and depth stole the panel's heart.

'Vanilla, apple tatin, lemons, peaches, pears, cooked apricots,' said Julien Sahut of Wine Culture, while Roger Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn found this 'very evolved' and full of character: 'Toasty, ripe, chunky, full flavoured, with bright freshness. Good balance, with soft lime, stone fruits and mushroom truffle notes.'

£24.96 Spirited Wines, Castelnau Wine Agencies

With its lean, pure elegance, Drappier provided a welcome touch of finesse. Andrea Fasan of La Petite Maison noted: 'Lovely complex nose, this is refreshing and fragrant, with elegant acidity and beautiful length.'
Consultant Michael Harrison felt this was 'creamy and rich for an ultra-dry', with its pale yellow colour and evolved, yeasty aromas. Team leader Angela Reddin added: 'Mineral, wet chalk with plenty of oomph on the palate.'

£24.22 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Summing it up as 'delicious', team leader Angela Reddin described this wine as: 'Lightly autolytic nose, quite deeply coloured with lots going on. Has presence and class.'
Consultant Michael Harrison agreed, saying: 'Much richer, more elegant palate', while team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW suggested matching Charles Heidsieck's NV with brown crab salad or razor clams.

£28.02 Liberty Wines

'Great value and tastes like liquid gold,' said Roger Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn, summarising the impact of Lallier's Grand Réserve, before adding: 'Toasty brioche, with full, deep flavour and fresh acidity, this delivers well, with plenty of body.'
'There's a zippy, fresh apple character spritz to this wine's elegance and length,' added team leader Jade Koch.

£18.70 Boutinot

'Opulent, ripe, full bodied. Clean and creamy, with biscuity notes and brioche. Good wine,' said The Vineyard Group's James Hocking.

'Fleshy fruit, balanced and crisp. Hints of dry fruitiness, with floral notes and yeasty complexity,' added team leader Simon Woods.

£24.80 Bibendum , Matthew Clark

'Lovely yeasty character, lemony fresh, with some development,' said Studio Alto's Neil Bruce. While consultant Michael Harrison commented: 'Lovely complex red fruit palate, this is long and intense', team leader Angela Reddin said: 'Bright, crunchy fruit with layers of flavour.'

£39.20 Bibendum , Matthew Clark

'Rounded and juicy, good balanced, fruity style, yet intense,' began team leader Simon Woods.

'Crisp and elegant with soft mousse,' added consultant Deborah-Lynn Morris, while The Harrow at Little Bedwyn's Roger Jones said: 'Delicate and evolved, mellow. Would be good with food.'

£23.29 Castelnau Wine Agencies

Yves Desmaris MS of Lutyens found good complexity, freshness and 'nutty almond gingerbread', while Roger Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn noted: 'Lovely nose, rich stone fruit, lingering, fresh. Not too fizzy. Beautiful on the palate, with good depth, elegance, and complex hints of truffle and peaches.'

£33.51 Pernod Ricard UK

'Elegant, soft mousse with defined complexity and great bubbles,' enthused consultant Deborah-Lynn Morris.

'Big, creamy, peach melba. Intense, complex, lovely style,' agreed team leader Simon Woods, adding: 'Almost a wine to decant.'

£61.67 Pernod Ricard UK

'Delicate and persistent mousse, fresh and dry with well-balanced dosage,' said team leader Annette Scarfe MW, with William Sheard of Donostia Restaurants adding: 'Yeasty and bright, with fresh lemon.'

£15.85 Molson Coors

Team leader Annette Scarfe MW noted 'bruised apples on the nose', adding: 'Shows complexity on the mid-palate.'
'Oxidative, but fruit, autolytic notes and acidity well balanced,' said William Sheard of Donostia Restaurants.

£25.27 Berkmann Wine Cellars

'Clean, youthful and fruity, lemon sorbet aromas,' said Neil Bruce of Studio Alto, adding: 'Dry, crisp, with decent balance on the palate.'
'Crunchy fruit with some minerality,' commented team leader Angela Reddin.

£24.79 Bibendum

'Bright, lifted nose with floral and orchard scents,' commented team leader Angela Reddin, adding: 'Generous flavours which last. A lovely champagne.'
'Good citrus, elegant,' added consultant Michael Harrison.

£23.11 Bibendum

Roger Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn considered this to have a 'masculine, steely and stony' style, finding plenty of diverse character: 'Marmite, brioche, toasty lime marmalade aromas. Rich and quite fizzy, with rich stone fruits and ripe peaches.'

£22.50 The Flying Corkscrew

'Very well balanced, with its fresh fruit nicely tied in with secondary aromas and brioche notes,' noted Oxo Tower Bar's Sandro Lyhs.

'Mousse is persistent, with a creamy, rich palate, and oaking gives texture and appeal,' added team leader Annette Scarfe MW.

£24.37 Hatch Mansfield

Team leader Annette Scarfe MW found 'layers of complexity' here, making it: 'Fresh and dry with persistent mousse. Creamy and attractive.'
'Lovely freshness and balance,' agreed William Sheard of Donostia Restaurants.

£34.38 Hatch Mansfield

'Good mousse with a pearlescent nose. Soft, with a gently creamy palate,' said consultant Michael Harrison.

'Super-dry and tightly linear, balanced and lingering,' added Neil Bruce of Studio Alto. Seared scallops with chanterelles was suggested as the perfect match.

£36.00 Boutinot

While William Sheard of Donostia Restaurants found 'orange, green apple and cleansing acidity', team leader Annette Scarfe MW noted an 'evolved nose and an oaky mid-palate', giving added interest.

£26.50 Bibendum , Matthew Clark

Sandro Lyhs of Oxo Tower Bar was impressed with the 'vintage character' he found in this wine: 'Creamy, buttery, ripe and rich, with delectable crème brûlée aromas.'

£19.25 Boutinot

Team leader Simon Woods described this as 'quite intense; good, crisp, pineapple and citrus character', while James Hocking of The Vineyard Group said: 'Crisp, balanced and lean. Good fruit and weight, delicate notes of brioche and honey.'

£30.63 Hatch Mansfield

Team leader Angela Reddin noted the 'simple pleasures' of this wine's 'lifted citrus and clean finish', while consultant Michael Harrison pointed out its 'nice mousse, yeasty character and good value'.

£12.40 Bottle Green

Ticked a lot of boxes for team leader Simon Woods, who said: 'Crisp, toasty, good style, slightly forward but good citrus with bready finish.'
'Balanced, ripe and full bodied,' added James Hocking of The Vineyard Group.

£16.99 Mentzendorff & Co

'Pleasantly toasty with a touch of reductive oxidity and a long finish. Very elegant,' commented Frédéric Jean-Yves Billet of Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa, with team leader Martin Lam adding: 'Clean, bright, forward, floral and zesty.'

£26.30 Moët Hennessy

£26.07 Liberty Wines

£21.82 Liberty Wines

£22.92 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£19.25 Boutinot

£18.85 Eurowines

£19.25 Justerini & Brooks

£21.97

£14.85 Boutinot

£25.67 Pernod Ricard UK

£28.75 Liberty Wines

£29.38 Hatch Mansfield