Showing plenty of Cabernet Franc typicity, Salentein’s offering walked away with Gold. ‘Blackcurrants, with leafy notes on the nose and palate, with a touch of fresh mint; very rounded and well built, balanced with a hint of black peppery spice, and quite classic in style,’ praised Piotr Artur Tomaszewski of Buddha Bar, while Matthieu Longuère MS of Le Cordon Bleu London found it ‘full bodied and concentrated, well made, with vanilla, black fruit, chocolate and herby notes, solid in character’. ‘Good intensity, with a balance between ageing and fruit; there are great tertiary characters like leather and earth here. This would be great with roasted lamb or duck,’ thought Wright Brothers’ Ivan Ruiz.

£19.35 Matthew Clark

‘Definitely one for a steak,’ began an effusive Piotr Artur Tomaszewski of Buddha Bar, who ‘especially loved the Bordeaux-style nose, but this is the crème-de-la-crème of New World Cab Franc, with coffee bean and chocolate complexity, blackcurrant and mint with a touch of almond on the nose, black pepper with wood elements and great structure, good to improve for another two or three years’.

£29.46 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Very fragrant, ripe berries on the nose, lean and fresh on the palate,’ said Matthieu Longuère MS of Le Cordon Bleu London, who enjoyed its ‘lovely fruit, juicy cranberries and slight vegetal notes in a light and easy-drinking style’.

£10.14 Boutinot

£13.17 Boutinot

£9.80 Enotria&Coe

£10.65 Matthew Clark