Much complexity alongside elegance took Atamisque up the Golden path. ‘Ripe, fleshy and unctuous with elegant tannins,’ began team leader Olivier Marie, continuing: ‘Sweet fruit style with roasted coffee aromas, spice and some meaty animal notes.’ ‘Dark, rich morello cherry fruit with cranberry acidity. Good balance and concentration, with violet notes on a crisp finish,’ added Claire Love of Loves Restaurant.

£10.41 Matthew Clark

‘Lovely, soft, aromatic nose that has a slight smoky graphite/slatey note, with plenty of cherry, cassis and cranberry fruit. Great style of wine,’ said Laurent Richet MS of Restaurant Sat Bains. ‘Blue florals over crushed black fruits, plenty of everything here but needs to settle,’ added team leader Angela Reddin.

£15.80 Enotria&Coe

‘Full-fat nose, with black berries and currants, unctuous on the palate with plenty more black fruit and good tannin,’ said Mark Graham of Butlers Wharf Chop House, with Paolo Pivato of Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa adding: ‘Really good example, spicy and leathery with tobacco leaves and smoky hints.’

£13.48 Pascual Toso

‘Blueberry with spicy eucalyptus and dark olive notes, elegant tannins, great potential,’ began Paolo Pivato of Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa, with Riccardo Guzzardo of The Gilbert Scott noting: ‘Red fruit and flowers, dry spice and chocolate-vanilla notes with mint.’

£10.50 The Flying Corkscrew

Stuart Skea of Champany Inn & Wine Cellars noted: 'Violets and roasted black fruit, this is modern and uprforn, supple and ripe, with good persistence.'
Team leader Jade Koch said: ‘Deep, inky nose with subdued fruit and a little bay leaf. Wild character with good fruit freshness and acid balance. Needs food.'

£9.36 Enotria&Coe

‘Amazing, uplifting nose with plums and red berries, clean, aromatic style, with lovely sour cherries, strawberries and plums on the palate,’ said an impressed Simon Cassina of Winexponent, adding: ‘Lingering nicely on the finish, this is a classy, harmonic, natural wine, to drink now or in 10 years. Good value.’

£23.52 Bibendum

Plump and ripe, with a fine-boned plushness. Christine Parkinson of Hakkasan Group, noted: ‘Black fruit aromas with mineral notes, showing evolved black cherry and high-toned fruit on the palate,’ concluding: ‘Wet stone mineral, juicy character, dense and long on the finish.’

£17.04 Amathus

‘Herbaceous, vegetal nose with coffee/bitter chocolate notes, lovely firm tannins and good length. A good food match,’ said Oscar Miller of Vinoteca King's Cross, with Angelo Casali of Duck & Rice noting: ‘Earthy black fruit with delicate acidity and good tannin.’

£14.87 Barwell & Jones

Christine Parkinson of Hakkasan Group found ‘pretty aromas of cassis and watermelon’ along with ‘leafy, leathery cocoa and cassis on the palate with lots of minerality, dense texture and a lengthy finish'. Charlotte Lamouroux of Le Pont de la Tour agreed, noting: 'Soft spices and character on the palate, and a long finish. Nice.'

£13.82 MMD

‘Lovely structure with fruit and spice, classic red and black fruit style with notes of cassis and tobacco leaf,’ said Mya Brown of Vinoteca Marylebone, with Lukasz Walkowiak of Oxo Tower Restaurant adding: ‘Dark fruit on the nose with prominent tannins but nice acidic lift.’

£8.88 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘Hints of ripe, dried plums, not too spicy but full bodied and fat, with juicy tannins,’ said Oscar Miller of Vinoteca King's Cross, with Angelo Casali of Duck & Rice adding: ‘Dense blackcurrant and cherry with coffee and liquorice notes.’

£14.54 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Deep, approachable aromas, with leafy blackcurrant fruit and finesse, followed by a meaty and muscular palate, complex and concentrated with a persistent finish,’ said Matteo Malquori of Hakkasan Hanway Place.

£12.35 Matthew Clark

‘A milky aspect to the nose, gentle but present,’ began Riccardo Guzzardo of The Gilbert Scott, continuing: ‘Rich fruit on the palate, with great tannins and a long, smoky finish.’ ‘Great drinking red, a nice, rich fireplace warmer,’ added Michael Moore of Room 24.

£10.55 Liberty Wines

‘Dark, rich, chocolatey flavours, smooth and clean with a lingering finish, and good by the glass,’ began Michael Moore of Room 24, with Paolo Pivato of Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa adding: ‘Good ripe fruit, black olive and raspberry with noticeable tannins.’

£7.17 Blends Wine Estates

‘Dark fruit with green, herby character on the nose, fresh fruit palate with a balanced finish, a good representative of its origins,’ said Giancarlo Cuccuru of The Gilbert Scott. ‘Fresh and vibrant, with blackcurrant and raspberries. Good by the glass,’ added Simon Cassina of Winexponent.

£8.85 Bibendum

‘Leafy blackberry aromas and a minty palate, needs lamb,’ began Christine Parkinson of Hakkasan Group, continuing: ‘Core of black fruit, juicy but tannic and warm.’ ‘Pleasant, easy style with some earthiness and elegance,’ added Richard Brooks of Caroline Catering.

£12.08 Enotria&Coe

‘Clean, with lovely blueberry fruit on an elegant palate and subtle character,’ said team leader Olivier Marie, with Vinoteca Marylebone’s Mya Brown adding: ‘Rich, sweet spice and fruit, with violet floral notes and great concentration.’

£10.50 Matthew Clark

‘Lots of mixed red fruit flavours in an attractive style, and good value,’ said Richard Brooks of Caroline Catering, with Christine Parkinson of Hakkasan Group adding: ‘Leafy, smoky aromas, dense black fruits with cassis and jelly-baby character. Long, leafy and gravelly.’

£7.50 Majestic Commercial

£8.72 Enotria&Coe

£8.30 Boutinot

£12.66 Bibendum

£13.17 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£8.70 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£8.10 Matthew Clark

£25.42 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£5.57 Bottle Green

£15.59 Enotria&Coe

£25.36 Enotria&Coe

£11.99 Matthew Clark

£9.56 Amathus