‘Very refreshing! I’d much rather have this than some nameless house wine,’ said impressed team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, additionally praising this Gold Lister’s ‘lively pink grapefruit and red apple juiciness’. Lime Wood Hotel’s Christopher Parker enjoyed ‘fresh almonds and vanilla notes, with some sweet apricots and ground pepper, too’, while Mikolaj Harmider of Adam’s Restaurant found ‘pineapple, peaches and cream’, and declared it ‘fantastic for oriental or seafood dishes’.

£7.91 Direct Wines Production

A well-deserved Gold for this Left Bank Bordeaux, with Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston finding its ‘cherry and chocolate mint notes, soft palate and lovely texture’ appealing, while Michael Fiducia of Coworth Park Ascot highlighted ‘blackberry and dark plum with herbaceous notes and underlying oak nuances, with fine tannin structure’. This fine combination of ‘vibrant black fruits, herbs and tannins’ meant this would, according to Coq d’Argent’s Lazaros Engonopoulos, ‘match brilliantly with chateaubriand or côte de boeuf’.

£17.75 Liberty Wines

Identifying a wine that was nothing but solid Gold, Adam Michocki of Glasshouse appreciated this for its ‘developed, farmyardy, leather and forest floor complexity of aromas, nice plums and cassis on a smooth palate with dusty tannins balanced by acidity and alcohol through to a long finish’. ‘Leather, cigar box and tobacco leaf’ notes made Boringdon Hall Hotel and Spa’s David McGlinchey think this the perfect accompaniment for lamb.

£20.89 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Blackberry, dark plums, earthy and savoury on the nose, well-integrated tannins with acidity and alcohol balancing the ripeness on the mid-palate,’ said Gymkhana’s Valentin Radosav, while team leader Laurent Richet MS felt it was ‘a wine to last, with scented and perfumed lilac, menthol, chocolate, plum and high acidity’.

£16.65 Liberty Wines

Making its mark on Sumilier’s Sumita Sarma, this showed ‘red plum, blackberries, softness and velvety tannins, smoky notes and luscious mid-palate dark fruit and spicy character, a bit of earthy, leafy character at the end, but overall full-bodied with smooth flow’.

£21.00 Eurowines

Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia found ‘soft bramble fruit and graphite with sandalwood nuances on the nose, and a silky-smooth, elegant palate’, with Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston noting ‘pencil, leather and cherry spirit notes, a fruity start on the palate followed by toasty cocoa nibs and a touch of green on the finish’.

£19.78 Jean Juviniere

Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston was impressed with the ‘red and black fruit, caramel, eucalyptus aromas, then a long palate of fruit with a complex blend of cardamom, black pepper and clove spice notes at the back’.

£26.38 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

Showing ‘lifted black berries and sandalwood with a sweetness of fruit on the palate and good acidity’ for Michael Fiducia of Coworth Park Ascot, with team leader Laurent Richet MS noting ‘plum and blackberry, menthol and spices, vibrantly aromatic and youthful with hints of vanilla and a drying mouthfeel’.

£10.90 Enotria&Coe

Team leader Angela Reddin found ‘blackcurrant and redcurrant, silky smooth in the mouth, medium body and a finish punching above its weight’, while Yauatcha City’s Javier Alonso Cardoso highlighted its ‘earthy, leather and meaty aromas, intense flavours and good freshness’.

£9.35 Direct Wines Production

‘A lot of cassis, black cherry, red and black plum, clove and nutmeg spice with toast, so it’s pretty complex on the palate,’ began Adam Michocki of Glasshouse, adding: ‘Smooth, modern, easy-drinking with nice concentration and intensity.’

£14.88 Boutinot

‘Bright fruit, with some tropical notes,’ began Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte, adding that ‘a hint of bâtonage gives this a bigger body, too’. For team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, this was ‘complex, with subtle but alluring aromatics, and a creamy, refined palate that has a delicate texture’.

£10.07 Direct Wines Production

One to develop further with age, or decant in advance, said Sumita Sarma of Sumiler, noting ‘ripe cassis, blackberries with bright, crisp acidity and velvety yet dominating tannins, its elegant body showing distinctive Bordeaux appeal, seductive notes of vanilla, cinnamon oak and liquorice notes at the end’.

£15.84 Matthew Clark

While team leader Laurent Richet MS felt this was ‘delicate in aroma and taste, tight and closed but with all the right tools’, Gymkhana’s Valentin Radosav liked its ‘dark plums, farmyard and forest fruit aromas, pronounced herbs of rosemary, thyme and tarragon and good integration’.

£13.08 Château Castera PRESTOM SARL

Team leader Nigel Lister highlighted a ‘gently oak nose, cassis fruit and cherry in a mid-weight style with vegetal notes on a decent finish’, with Sumilier’s Sumita Sarma adding: ‘Elegant, easy-drinking wine, a bit restrained with some rustic tannins, but equally has good complexity.’

£10.28 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

A wine of layers and ‘complex value’, said Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, who found a ‘slightly herbal, earthy nose opening up to sage and thyme with dark chocolate, red cherry and meaty notes on the palate, with high but well-integrated alcohol offset by fresh acidity and a long finish’.

£9.81 Enotria&Coe

£10.51 Boutinot

£8.42 Matthew Clark

£21.49 Top Selection Ltd

£14.00 FARR VINTNERS LTD

£6.91 Addison Wines

£16.56 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£9.36 Enotria&Coe

£20.40 Direct Wines Production

£8.27 Direct Wines Production