Team leader Simon Woods found plenty to be impressed by on encountering this clear candidate for Gold, describing a ‘clean, crisp, juicy, really good honest style that’s toasty with nice balance’, and picking up on this blend’s 70% Seyval Blanc content, he added: ‘Has an almost Sauvignon-like herbal edge.’ ‘Classic in style,’ said Lime Wood Hotel’s Christopher Parker, going on to praise its ‘driven primary orchard fruits and wild orchid hints’.

£10.12 Three Choirs Vineyards Ltd

Judges had no hesitation in awarding this complex sparkling wine a Gold medal. While The Don’s Carlos Ferreira found ‘peachy stone fruit and red apple on the nose, really good balance and a creamy aftertaste’, team leader Angela Reddin enjoyed its ‘light, delicate nose of meadow flowers and oyster shell, with baker’s shop pastries on the palate and a savoury umami finish’. ‘Definitely a food wine,’ summed up team leader Martin Lam, suggesting roast chicken as a good match.

£24.05 Enotria&Coe

‘Lovely by the glass and good value,’ began Matthieu Longuère MS of Le Cordon Bleu London, as this English fizz took Gold, noting its ‘floral, nutty, fruity and elegant nose, and friendly, fresh and quite juicy palate’. The Don’s Carlos Ferreira thought it was ‘a bit spicy with red apple, oak and stone fruits, good balance and finishing long and creamy’. Team leader Martin Lam found it ‘very distinctive, with a creamy, almost honeyed nose, and quite high acidity’.

£16.80 Langham Wine Estate

‘Outstanding,’ began an impressed Elisa Soggia of Kai Mayfair, who loved this Gold medal winner’s ‘fresh, nutty vanilla aromas, balanced yeast notes with a crispy, buttery palate, long finish and a touch of salinity’, while Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants went on to highlight its ‘flinty, crushed stone and steely but harmonious nose with lots of iodine, elegant and sumptuous palate, mid-palate intensity and plenty of tangerine, ripe lemon and yuzu fruit, too’.

£36.43 Jascots Wine Merchants

This Gold Lister left an impression on Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants, with its ‘iodine, creamy, canteloupe melon rind, lactic, fine and ethereal aromas, voluptuous and succulent balance of citrus and lactic notes on the palate, showing intensity and persistence with a complex finish’, while team leader Jade Koch found it ‘honeyed, long, refreshing and mineral’. ‘A gastronomic wine,’ added team leader Laurent Richet MS, recommending a match with ‘creamy onion soup’.

£21.66 Boutinot

‘A more serious wine,’ began team leader Laurent Richet MS, picking up ‘yeasty, biscuity aromas with Granny Smith apple and hints of dry cider and miso, then a bone-dry palate with a lovely minerality’.

£17.00 Bibendum , Matthew Clark, Greyfriars Vineyard

Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS found ‘bright fruit, ripe and slightly oxidative style on the nose, weight and density on the mid-palate with mineral/yeast drive, more fruit and an elegant delivery’.

£17.00 Bibendum , Matthew Clark, Greyfriars Vineyard

Gabriele Galuppo of Theo Randall at the InterContinental enjoyed this wine’s ‘yellow apple and citrus aromas with a fragrant edge, clean acidity, elegant bubbles and creamy, toasty flavours’, while Lime Wood Hotel’s Christopher Parker highlighted ‘elderberries, ripe Granny Smith apples, subtle buttery pastry notes and hints of gooseberry jam’.

£18.50 Hermitage Cellars, Raimes English Sparkling

This left an impression on team leader Angela Reddin, who found it ‘exactly the style of wine that will continue to raise the game, with its spring flowers on a crisp, clean nose, tight and controlled palate but without effort, and a fantastic finish’. ‘Good to have with smoked salmon or an octopus salad,’ suggested The Don’s Carlos Ferreira.

£28.06 Liberty Wines

A complete and classic proposition for Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin, who liked its ‘broad, fine, toasty aromas with gingerbread and Granny Smith apples, bright lemon and white peach, then a rounded palate with crunchy fruit, hints of bitter almond and fine texture’.

£21.67 Camber Wines , Four Walls Wine Company, PDN wines

A ‘clean, vibrant and fruity’ style, began team leader Laurent Richet MS, showing ‘golden apples, balanced yellow plums and tangerine notes, and lovely for a by-the-glass option’. ‘The bubbles fill your mouth,’ added Cristian Sánchez of Hotel du Vin Cambridge, ‘and there’s lemon peel, pear, apple and buttery aromas with a full-bodied palate.’

£15.99 Berkmann Wine Cellars, Bibendum , Bolney Wine Estate

First observing ‘a lot of foam when pouring’, team leader Laurent Richet MS found it ‘an elegant wine with concentrated fruit and nutty aromas, and a very complex taste, yet it’s easy to enjoy, showing ripe golden apple, quince and Morello cherry fruit’. ‘Lovely and gentle, with a finely composed, velvety structure,’ said Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants.

£24.78 Bibendum

Le Cordon Bleu London’s Matthieu Longuère MS was convinced: ‘Nutty, autolysis, brioche, buttery, complex aromas, citrusy and fresh, well-balanced palate, textbook English freshness with a long juicy finish,’ adding that it was a good choice by the glass.

£20.36 Jascots Wine Merchants

Team leader Angela Reddin found ‘older reserve wines evident, bringing a honeyed touch with earthier notes’, and Le Cordon Bleu London’s Matthieu Longuère MS picked up ‘yeasty, leesy, peach and barley sugar aromas, a really creamy, elegant palate, lovely and well made in an easy style’.

£25.85 Ellis of Richmond

This wine conjured up ‘toffee apple on a stick, with crunch, bite and a firm centre’ for Christopher Parker of Lime Wood Hotel, who also enjoyed its ‘tart-sweet finish’, with Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin highlighting ‘floral, Granny Smith and lemon zest aromas, a crunchy palate with toasted almond notes, crystalline acidity and a fresh, zesty finish’.

£21.00 Gusbourne Estate

‘Full of red and green apple, but the palate is citrus, with really good acidity and finesse,’ said The Don’s Carlos Ferreira, noting its ‘soft aftertaste with a big hit of mineral notes’. ‘Sea breeze and delicate elderflower, crisp and clean with plenty of cracker autolysis,’ added team leader Angela Reddin.

£18.67 Breaky Bottom, The General Wine Company, The Wine Pantry, The Vintner Ltd

Simone Fadda of Roka Aldwych found ‘green apple aromas, slightly underripe, with lemon peel notes, tight and citrus on the palate’, while team leader Andrea Briccarello felt it was ‘lean and crisp with lime and salty notes, crisp with an extra-dry finish’.

£19.99 New Generation Wines

Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant enjoyed the ‘crisp and citrus, very approachable style, with plenty of peachy fruit on the palate’, while for team leader Andrea Briccarello this was ‘floral, elegant and quite complex, with joyful honey notes’.

£18.90 Langham Wine Estate

£14.00 Bibendum , Matthew Clark, Greyfriars Vineyard

£25.00 Gusbourne Estate

£20.79 Matthew Clark, Camel Valley, St Austell Brewery

£28.00 High Clandon Estate Vineyard

£21.99 Bolney Wine Estate

£22.00 Liberty Wines, Hush Heath Estate

£19.66 Boutinot

£20.06 Ellis of Richmond

£19.06 Ellis of Richmond

£15.99 Denbies Wine Estate Ltd

£21.76 Denbies Wine Estate Ltd

£20.11 Berkmann Wine Cellars