This had all the hallmarks of a Gold medal red blend, with Erik Simonics of La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons describing ‘a dark, heavy wine, yet balanced, and with a long finish’. Piers Gibson-Birch of Wernher Restaurant at Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa went on to find ‘good quality of oak and fruit, with a slight jam character joining eucalyptus and blackberry’, describing it, crucially, as ‘worthy of the price!’

£19.89 Direct Wines Production

‘It definitely says “Margaret River”,’ began impressed team leader Jade Koch on encountering this Gold-worthy Cab, while Hakkasan Mayfair’s Jurijs Nemkovs described ‘a ripe character on both nose and palate’ and went on to praise its ‘good concentration of complex, dark fruit, and good acidity, too, as well as some sweetness on the finish’. ‘Rich, powerful and concentrated, with Christmas spices and oak and vanilla, as well as some medium tannins,’ added Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte.

£24.50 Great Wine Estates

Piers Gibson-Birch of Wernher Restaurant at Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa found ‘ripe, dark fruits with pleasing freshness and well-integrated sweet spice, all converging to create a rich, classic Aussie red style’. ‘A juicy, fruit-driven wine,’ added Erik Simonics of La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons.

£11.63 Matthew Clark

‘A perfumed nose leads to a rich, ripe palate, with baskets of fruit, as well as some added mocha,’ began team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, adding that this had ‘firm but well-managed tannins, and a vibrant, long finish’.

£21.83 Bibendum

For Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte, this represented ‘good quality, with jammy red berries and some eucalyptus, along with some soft, toasty overtones, and a good tannic structure’, while Mikolaj Harmider of Adam’s Restaurant described ‘ripe cherry, hibiscus and raspberry, as well as a touch of savouriness’.

£17.86 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘A dark, rich and full-bodied wine,’ began Erik Simonics of La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons, further finding ‘rich, dark fruit joined by some sweet spices, and culminating in a long finish’. Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn described ‘blackcurrant and blueberry fruit, as well as interesting tertiary characteristics’.

£18.63 Liberty Wines

‘A crowd-pleasing style,’ began team leader Annette Scarfe MW, going on to describe ‘a well-balanced wine, with generous use of creamy vanilla oak, and culminating in a spicy finish’. Freelance sommelier Julio Iglesias found it ‘floral and balsamic, with good fruit and tannins’.

£10.88 CAPE BARREN WINES

‘A vivid wine, and mouthwatering, with a palate bursting with black and red fruit, and leading to a tannic sign-off,’ said team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, with Hakkasan Mayfair’s Jurijs Nemkovs describing ‘dark fruits and some spice, as well as a herbaceous note’.

£11.70 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘A well-made wine, with balanced dark cherries and some sweet spice on the nose, leading to ripe cherry notes on the palate,’ said Hakkasan Mayfair’s Jurijs Nemkovs, while Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte identified ‘blueberries, blackcurrants and cocoa notes, with some moderate tannins, too’.

£13.15 Bibendum

‘A lovely expression of ripe cassis that is juicy but not confected,’ thought team leader Annette Scarfe MW, with Piers Gibson-Birch of Wernher Restaurant at Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa finding ‘a herbal note, with green leaf and celery’.

£9.30 Enotria&Coe

‘Generous use of good quality oak here, backed up with abundant ripe damsons and plums, as well as some liquorice notes,’ was team leader Annette Scarfe MW’s appraisal, with Erik Simonics of La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons succinctly describing it as ‘rich, complex, balanced and juicy’.

£17.67 Dandelion Vineyards

‘Reminiscent of walking in the British countryside in autumn,’ began Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn, describing ‘plenty of red and black fruit, like blackcurrants, as well as spice and leather notes, and good concentration of fruit, as well as some herbaceousness’.

£11.72 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£18.28 Direct Wines Production

£10.01 Bibendum

£21.34 Liberty Wines

£12.74 Enotria&Coe

£8.50 Fuller's

£11.52 Zonte's Footstep