Bringing spice, fruit, elegance and complexity, this wine was a clear candidate for Gold. Frédéric Billet of Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa enjoyed its ‘elegant, spicy nose with well-seasoned oak, fleshy, ripe black berry fruit with complex hints of leather, dark chocolate and tobacco’, also finding it ‘well-integrated on the finish with great balance of tannin, acidity and spice’. Damien Trinckquel of Galvin Brasserie de Luxe Edinburgh also admired its ‘very precise style, freshness and structure, with sour red fruits and spice notes’. ‘Silky, smooth, meaty and savoury, with a complex finish,’ added team leader Andrea Briccarello, while Matthieu Longuère MS of Le Cordon Bleu London recommended it be paired with a veal chop, rosemary, thyme and garlic.

£32.41 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

This complex Chianti was heaped with praise, and a Gold medal, by our judges. Chantal Serrano of Tamarind of Mayfair enjoyed its ‘cherries and blackcurrant with hints of coffee on the nose, peppery palate with chewy tannins, dark olive notes and good length’, while Robert Mason of Cheese at Leadenhall found it ‘elegant, with tomato, redcurrant and charcuterie notes, complex with finesse and definition’. Buddha Bar’s Piotr Artur Tomaszewski found ‘wild strawberry and yerba mate notes, with a touch of camomile, with some strawberry and hibiscus following on the palate – a match for pastas and salads, and black olives in particular, or even truffle and steak’.

£11.95 Boutinot

Hakkasan Group’s Olivier Gasselin enjoyed this Gold Lister’s ‘juicy, plummy, violets and spice mix on the nose, then great intensity on the palate with juicy, fleshy, crunchy fruit and an invitingly rustic, savoury edge’. ‘Lovely wine, black fruit nose, intense yet very smooth attack, with dark cherry notes and a touch of oak,’ added Benoît Poulain of Adam’s Restaurant. One for beef bourguignon, said Sue Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn.

£19.10 Boutinot

‘Very delicate nose with gentle notes of fresh leather, then a juicy attack, darker touches of liquorice and spice for a great value option,’ said Benoît Poulain of Adam’s Restaurant in praise of this Gold winner, while Hakkasan Group’s Olivier Gasselin was impressed with its ‘dark plum intensity, freshness and upfront character, tight palate but fine oak usage with notes of bitter chocolate and mixed spices’. ‘Easy drinking, with savoury, spicy and farmyard notes, with some rounded tannins,’ concluded team leader Andrea Briccarello.

£6.62 Matthew Clark

Judges didn’t hold back in their praise of this Gold-winning Gran Selezione. ‘Complex and approachable, with blackberry, black cherry and chocolate notes, lovely meatiness and more cherry on the palate with nice earthy tannins in support,’ said Damien Trinckquel of Galvin Brasserie de Luxe Edinburgh, with Benoît Poulain of Adam’s Restaurant noting ‘cigar smoke fragrance, dark fruit on the nose with hints of liquorice, a smooth attack with spiciness coming gently, juicy and jammy at the same time – brilliant’. A match for wild-boar stew, said team leader Andrea Briccarello.

£14.07 Matthew Clark

‘This is a really big wine,’ began Carlos Ferreira of The Sign of the Don, continuing: ‘Still a little green, but shows lots of complexity, black fruits and spice, leathery tobacco and oak, and will continue to age very well. If you enjoy this type of wine, you can decant it now and have it with a big steak!’

£19.07 La Sala

‘Dusty, earthy, sweet spice nose with delicate tobacco and red fruits,’ began Robert Mason of Cheese at Leadenhall, continuing: ‘Smooth and elegant on the palate, showing stewed tomatoes and savoury character, with fine ripe tannins. Very moreish.’ ‘Perfect with hard cheeses,’ added The Sign of the Don’s Carlos Ferreira.

£8.89 Boutinot

‘Grippy tannins and juicy red fruit that is pure,’ began Andrés Ituarte of Coq d’Argent, also highlighting ‘lots of worn wood notes, tomato leaf and spice with great length – this is good value’. ‘Rich tannic structure, some herbal notes and good overall balance,’ added Mattin Larraburu of Sexy Fish.

£15.09 Liberty Wines

‘Dark fruit, blackcurrant and plum with black cherry, well-integrated spice and oak on the palate, still feels very young but has good potential,’ said team leader Laura Rhys MS, while Hakkasan Group’s Olivier Gasselin found it ‘dense, tense and concentrated, with big structure, fleshy dark fruits, bitter chocolate notes and chunky tannins’.

£19.52 Enotria&Coe

‘Tobacco and wet leaves, black and red fruits on the nose with hints of mint and pine, a well-balanced palate with a beautiful finish,’ said The Sign of the Don’s Carlos Ferreira, with Robert Mason of Cheese at Leadenhall finding ‘elegant and charming, whiffs of meat and oak and lots of bright red fruits’.

£7.65 Matthew Clark

Coq d’Argent’s judge Andrés Ituarte enjoyed this ‘lighter style of Chianti, refreshing and a touch floral, elegant while also showing a nice earthiness’, with Mattin Larraburu of Sexy Fish also noting ‘hints of gunpowder on the nose, and good mineral notes bringing nice balance’.

£16.04 Liberty Wines

‘Bright cherry aromatics, lively cherry on the palate with grainy tannins, and will improve further with some age,’ said team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW. ‘Ripe, concentrated red fruits, well balanced with cedar, vanilla and other spices,’ added Cristian Sanchez of Hotel du Vin Cambridge.

£15.87 Enotria&Coe

£7.60 Eurowines

£11.25 Eurowines

£8.89 Boutinot

£8.00 VinumTerra

£9.50 VinumTerra

£6.72 Bibendum

£16.75 Bibendum

£11.48 Enotria&Coe

£10.47 Enotria&Coe