This was a gran reserva worthy of Gold, with team leader Annette Scarfe MW finding ‘good concentration of dark berry fruit with rounded acidity, a pleasantly juicy mid-palate and good length on the finish’. Fellow team leader Sam Caporn MW found it ‘a lovely wine, and still quite youthful, with spicy oak, which would pair well with tapas such as chorizo and patatas bravas’.

£15.95 Liberty Wines

‘Ruby colour and medium-bodied structure,’ said Buddha Bar’s Piotr Artur Tomaszewski of this Gold medal reserva, finding ‘cherries and plums on the nose with farmyardy hints, cinnamon and pencil shaving notes on a fresh, rounded palate, showing more cherry and plum fruit – and it’s good value for money, too’. Meanwhile, Tanya Mann of Linden House Stansted enjoyed its ‘light, elegant nose, lovely mix of red fruits, blackberry and forest floor, with refreshing acidity’. Vinoteca’s Charlie Young thought ‘savoury, spicy, fresh aromas and some power on the palate, with acidity to match’ made this perfect for slow-cooked pork belly.

£12.42 Bibendum

This could only be Gold, with Tanya Mann of Linden House Stansted dubbing it a ‘beautiful, old school wine, a treasure in a glass’, and relishing its ‘dry, cherry fruit and forest berries, leafy character with lots of waves of flavour – a meditation wine that will keep happily in the cellar, with its kick of acidity helping it to age well’. ‘A lovely complex wine, quite spicy and savoury, as well as elegant and fresh,’ added Matthieu Longuère MS of Le Cordon Bleu London, while Geoffray Bénat of Cépages Wine Bistro recommended it be served with venison fillet.

£19.93 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Team leader Annette Scarfe MW picked up ‘creamy American oak on the nose, then soft tannins on a juicy mid-palate with ripe strawberries and sweet spice notes, satisfying and good length’, and Andre Luis Martins of the Cavalry & Guards Club found it ‘opulent, with dark spicy plum liqueur aromas and gentle jammy fruit on the palate and finish’.

£14.99 House of Townend

A ‘perfect understated style’ for Matthieu Longuère MS of Le Cordon Bleu London, who enjoyed its ‘warm spices, cocoa notes and evident oak’ on the nose, finding it ‘pleasant, really concentrated and elegant, with a lot of freshness on the finish’. ‘Drying, cool, elegant with strawberry fruit and a lighter style,’ said team leader Jade Koch.

£9.95 Enotria&Coe

‘Modern, very forward, charming velvety nose, with sour cherry and vibrant freshness on the palate, well balanced with a savoury finish,’ said team leader Andrea Briccarello, while Jason Atherton Group’s Stefan Kobald felt it was ‘developing, with hints of vanilla and clove, medium oak usage and good balance overall, with Ribena notes on the palate’.

£15.00 Enotria&Coe

‘Well-integrated vanilla with dark berries and a hint of tobacco, a great Rioja,’ began Sebastian Agnello of The Don Restaurant, while Stefan Kobald of Jason Atherton Group found it ‘extracted and full bodied, with raspberries in a fruit-forward style that’s fresh, well balanced and easy to drink’.

£14.51 Boutinot

‘Modern style, with plum and cherry fruit and a touch of almond on the nose,’ began Piotr Artur Tomaszewski of Buddha Bar, noting its ‘black and white pepper on the finish, rounded palate and good balance, a big reserva’. ‘Morello cherry on a warm nose, a little tannin with stewed red fruits, jammy and plummy on the end,’ added Tanya Mann of Linden House Stansted.

£11.25 Liberty Wines

‘A great nose that really drags you in,’ said Vinoteca’s Charlie Young, who found ‘nice dark fruit, intense and balanced, ripeness with texture and elegance on the finish’, while Sebastian Agnello of The Don Restaurant enjoyed its ‘fresh strawberries and slightly herbal character, for a good friendly Rioja with tapas’.

£12.36 Matthew Clark

A ‘traditional style with oxidative winemaking’, said team leader Annette Scarfe MW, who enjoyed its ‘quite savoury style with notes of soy sauce, still juicy on the mid-palate with structured tannins shaping the wine overall’, and Guillaume Mahaut of ETM Group highlighted a ‘balsamic, meaty character with pastry and frangipane vanilla notes, still fresh on the palate with strawberry fruit on the finish’.

£20.68 Matthew Clark

‘A big wine, with a bigger personality,’ said Michael Fiducia of Coworth Park Ascot, and Vinoteca’s Charlie Young liked its style of ‘wild raspberry fruit on the nose, big profile with nice acidity and chunky tannins, showing great promise’. ‘Fleshy, meaty, with a very juicy core, plums and dark cherry with spices and jammy notes,’ added team leader Andrea Briccarello.

£19.50 Indigo Wine

Matthieu Longuère MS of Le Cordon Bleu London found this a ‘lovely savoury, spicy style with well-integrated tannins and a really long, spicy finish’, while Jacopo Armenio of Vinarius enjoyed its ‘intensity of fruits, cooked blackberry and blackcurrant, black pepper and vanilla with a touch of cinnamon’.

£10.78 Boutinot

Sebastian Agnello of The Don Restaurant was pleased to find ‘lots of red wild berry aromas, good structure and great potential to age further’, while team leader Andrea Briccarello noted its ‘voluptuous, generous nose of roses and strawberry jam, good tannins and rounded structure’.

£11.50 EWGA

Jacopo Armenio of Vinarius found this a ‘powerful wine, with intense cooked blackberry, blackcurrant and black cherry fruit ripeness, and ripe, rounded tannins; hints of forest floor and mushroom make it perfect for a steak’.

£14.86 Bibendum

‘Cherry and tobacco leaf on the nose, dark spices and earthy, meaty notes on the palate, finishing with a gentle dark olive character,’ said Andre Luis Martins of the Cavalry & Guards Club, with team leader Annette Scarfe MW noting ‘savoury, restrained with dark plums on the finish’.

£12.31 Bibendum

Michael Fiducia of Coworth Park Ascot found the nose ‘soft and enticing, with dark fruits and sandalwood spice notes’, while The Don Restaurant’s Sebastian Agnello felt it was a ‘good value, easy-drinking Rioja, with fresh raspberry fruit and smooth tannins’.

£9.30 Bibendum

£15.50 EWGA

£7.53 Boutinot

£16.23 Hatch Mansfield

£11.25 Hayward Bros (Wines) Ltd

£12.75 Templar Wines , Connoisseur Estates

£7.41 Majestic Commercial

£12.06 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£18.92 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£10.34 Liberty Wines

£10.19 Liberty Wines

£10.09 Hallgarten & Novum Wines