‘An open wine,’ began team leader Lionel Periner as this was led to the Gold podium, further describing ‘candied lemon and great acidity’, while Timothy Connor of Core by Clare Smyth found ‘great balance, with the fruit and acidity really coming together’. ‘You can really taste the soil,’ said an impressed team leader Angela Reddin, describing ‘a very mineral palate’ that followed on from ‘quite a classic dry Riesling nose, with lemon, lime and kumquat notes’.

£26.52 Clark Foyster Wines

For Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, this Gold medallist had ‘good body, acidity and concentration, with a leesy finish’, and he found ‘notes of fresh green apple and a chalky nose, with citrus and fresh stone fruit on the palate’, while Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles thought it a ‘pretty wine, with a lovely, delicate nose with apricot, peach and white flowers, and well-balanced minerality and acidity on the palate’.

£23.96 Clark Foyster Wines

‘A ripe wine with peach, apple, melon, honeysuckle and white pepper,’ began Adam Michocki of Glasshouse in praise of this Gold-worthy Grüner, while Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants spoke of ‘a ripe, generous nose, leading to a full, weighty, complex palate’ that was ‘fresh and mineral’ too. Nelio Pinto of Candlesticks thought this ‘voluminous wine, with warm spice’ would be ideal served alongside chicken or pork with a heavy, creamy sauce.

£18.06 Clark Foyster Wines

Garnering enthusiastic praise from our judges, this Gold Lister was described as ‘vibrant, with a green apple note and a slight spritz’ by team leader Laurent Richet MS, while Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants found it ‘light and refreshing, with a hint of white pepper on the palate, and good length’. ‘Gentle herbal notes, with some floral elements too, lead to fresh green apple and some complex minerality,’ added Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club.

£9.06 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘Distinct floral and citrus aromas, with a hint of ripe, exotic fruit,’ began team leader Lionel Periner in his praise of this Gold winner, going on to describe a ‘vibrant, balanced palate, with a long finish’, while Three Chimneys Restaurant’s Petri Pentikainen appreciated its ‘lime and honeysuckle aromas, with refreshing acidity and grapefruit notes on the palate’. ‘This really punches above its weight in terms of price,’ said Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms.

£8.50 Alpine Wines

‘Lovely apple, pear and floral aromas,’ began Yohann Pinol of Wiltons of this worthy Gold medal recipient, while Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club described ‘apricot notes with white flowers on the nose’, leading to ‘more complex, ripe apricot on the palate, with a light toastiness and refreshing minerality’. Team leader Laurent Richet MS thought its ‘lovely fruit concentration and good acidity’ made it a match for ‘a raw vegetable salad, or cordon bleu with horseradish’.

£12.57 Bibendum

Like a ‘mixed fruit strudel’, thought Michael Fiducia of Coworth Park Ascot as this Zweigelt snapped up a well-deserved Gold, with its ‘silky smooth mouthfeel and good length’. Meanwhile team leader Tom Forrest highlighted ‘creamy vanilla oak and dark stewy fruit aromas, and seriously ripe fruit on the palate with balancing acidity and soft tannins’, and The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston’s Giuseppe Longobardi particularly appreciated its ‘spice notes of cinnamon and clove, leading to a sweet, long finish’.

£13.41 Boutinot

‘An elegant and fresh saline nose’ started things off here, according to Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, who went on to describe ‘subtle complexity on the palate, with well-integrated acidity, as well as good citrus and stone fruit notes, and good length’.

£14.88 Ester Wines

‘So intense, yet so delicate too,’ said team leader Laurent Richet MS of this Grüner, finding ‘lovely, vibrant acidity and good ripeness’, while Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens bar & Restaurants went on to praise its ‘ripe stone fruit, minerality and lively acidity’.

£12.57 Bibendum

‘Some toasty oak and stewy red and black fruits, notes of minty herbaceousness and clove spice on a juicy palate,’ said team leader Tom Forrest, while Typing Room’s Alex Pitt picked up ‘impressive crunchy red fruit’, and described it as ‘juicy and lively, offering excellent value for money’.

£11.70 Character Wines

‘Linear and focused’, thought team leader Jade Koch, who also described this wine as ‘pure, clean and mineral’. ‘A rich, fresh wine with green apple notes on both the nose and palate,’ added Gabriele Galuppo of Theo Randall at the InterContinental.

£13.29 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

Team leader Jade Koch found this Grüner Veltliner to be ‘juicy, warm and crunchy, with a waxy lime character’. ‘Complex aromas of quince and pear, and very floral too, with good minerality,’ said Yohann Pinol of Wiltons.

£14.00 GK Wine House

Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia liked this wine’s ‘soft, appealing nose of bramble fruit and creamy oak nuances, leading to a silky soft palate with light structure’, while Typing Room’s Alex Pitt alighted on ‘lovely damson and dark plums, velvety and rich on the palate with a strong finish’, describing it as ‘very plush’.

£15.83 Weinkellerei Lenz Moser AG

‘A tropical, lemon and mineral nose,’ began Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms, finding this Riesling to have ‘precision on the palate, with tropical mango notes, as well as a nice level of acidity, and with sweetness that lingers on the finish’.

£15.76 Boutinot

Typing Room’s Alex Pitt found ‘perfumed, floral aromas, plenty of fruit on the palate with a distinct, underlying mineral quality, subtle use of oak giving lovely depth and complexity’.

£11.25 Matthew Clark

For Yohann Pinol of Wiltons this had ‘rich aromas of peach and apricot, as well as some honey and vanilla, with some oak evident on the palate’. The Connaught’s Aurel Istrate thought it ‘balanced, with good mouthfeel and acidity’.

£15.48 Matthew Clark

Team leader Lionel Periner described ‘ripe yellow fruit aromas, with candied lemon’, which led to a palate that was ‘complex and balanced, with good acidity and a long finish’. ‘This would do well in fine-dining establishments,’ thought Timothy Connor of Core by Clare Smyth.

£39.06 Top Selection Ltd

‘Some good complexity here, with crushed oyster shells on the nose leading to a palate that’s round, ripe and generous, but laced with some vital acidity too, all offset by what might be a touch of residual sugar,’ said Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants.

£14.16 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘Has a good weight and nice juiciness, is fruity with spice notes and a good finish,’ began Alex Pitt of Typing Room, with team leader Tom Forrest noting: ‘Leafy, soft apple and currant fruit with some pastry notes and baking spices.’

£7.90 Character Wines

The Don’s Carlos Ferreira found classic ‘spicy black cherries on the nose with meaty, floral and pine notes, prominent tannin but a very well-balanced palate and good fruit on the back. Good acidity too.’

£9.80 Alpine Wines

£11.29 Matthew Clark

£23.03 Top Selection Ltd

£14.90 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£17.83 Bibendum

£13.69 Top Selection Ltd

£21.00 GK Wine House

£10.90 Weinkellerei Lenz Moser AG

Felt by our judges to be not only a worthy rival to Champagne, but a worthy Gold recipient, too. ‘A blanc de noirs style with wonderful body’ as Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason put it, ‘yeasty and savoury with macaroni cheese aromas, rich and full yet lively and fresh on the palate, with sour cherry on the finish and clean, refreshing acidity’. Agreeing, team leader Lionel Periner also noted ‘ripe yellow fruit and almond notes, full, elegant and complex on the palate’.

£19.41 Top Selection Ltd

Overdelivering for its price, this couldn’t be anything but Gold, with a ‘gentle, bready nose with light citrus fruits and smooth mousse’ preceding a palate of ‘fresh green apple and lively acidity’, according to Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, who found it ‘great value, ideal for a gastropub, by the glass’. Nicola Merighi of Hakkasan Mayfair added praise for its ‘touch of fennel, with a bit of yeast’ and ultimately a ‘smooth and refreshing palate’, making it a perfect match for ceviche.

£7.53 Boutinot

Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine liked the ‘complex, apple aromas, citrus fruit and good balance on the palate with floral notes on a good finish’, while Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason focused on the fruit: ‘Peach, apricot and greengage, lemon and lime peel, red cherry and redcurrant, with a zingy acidic backbone, fresh and easy.’

£12.73 Bibendum

Team leader Lionel Periner found ‘a touch of petrol among the citrus and apple aromas, with a dry, delicate palate of apple fruit, chalky texture, finishing elegant and dry’, while Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine enjoyed ‘good aromatics, apple and lime notes with good balance and use of flavours’, and Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason felt it would be ‘great with a fruit crumble’.

£17.34 Bibendum

‘Bright, with fresh stone fruit aromas, lasting mouthfeel and notes of confit fruit,’ began Timothy Connor of Core by Clare Smyth, with Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason noting ‘red cherry, peach and apricot, lime zest aromas, weighty and complex with elegance, depth and a classic note of understated sharpness on the finish’.

£10.14 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

A richer, unusual style, showing ‘earthy, farmyard, dark berry aromas and a palate of bramble fruit, redcurrants, red and black cherry and brioche’, said Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, highlighting its ‘depth and weight, long finish and food-friendly complexity’.

£14.78 Enotria&Coe

Beginning with a ‘subtle mineral nose’, this was a ‘classic cava style’, said Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, who also liked its 'fresh acidity and gentle mousse, zingy lemon zest and lime with some red cherry notes too, fresh and elegant’.

£12.52 Matthew Clark

Team leader Lionel Periner found ‘candied lemon and quince jelly on the nose, a full, ripe yellow fruit palate and a hint of sweetness on the finish’, while Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason enjoyed the ‘deep honeyed nose, lots of richness and complexity on the palate, green apple and lemon zest with creamy texture’.

£11.04 Matthew Clark, Walker & Wodehouse Wines

£9.25 Matthew Clark

‘Gooseberry and wool aromas,’ began Ten Trinity Square Private Club’s Melody Wong as this English white was led to the Gold podium, going on to describe ‘candied lemon, cut grass and a bit of earthiness on the palate’. Hakkasan Hanway Place’s Jose Luis Hernandez liked its ‘ripe yellow fruit, like quince’, while The Mount Vineyard’s Andrea Carozzo praised it for its ‘delicate nose and fresh acidity, with good balance – and good value, too’.

£7.58 R.W. Buckingham & Son

For Eva Krenkova of Restaurant Sat Bains, this worthy Gold Lister was ‘grassy and herbaceous, with a slight spritz on the tongue’, and she found it ‘well balanced, with some good weight on the palate’. Team leader Tom Forrest, meanwhile, liked its ‘fresh, green and mineral notes, with some lemon, too’. With its ‘tropical fruit and nice acidity’, Crafthouse’s Andrea Rossi thought it to be a fine match for fish and chips.

£7.36 Boutinot, Sharpham Wines, Christopher Piper Wines

This Gold medal-winning English Pinot was one to ‘drink chilled’ said team leader Tom Forrest, who had ample praise for its ‘floral perfume, bramble hedgerow fruits, and soft, spicy oak, with a cherry liqueur finish’. For James Fryer of Woodhead 17 it had ‘dark plum and meaty aromas’ and ‘fresh plum juice on a palate that’s super-fresh and zippy’, while Geoffray Bénat of Cépage[s] Wine Bistro found it ‘delicate and well balanced, with raspberry, blackberry and mint, and an earthier note on the finish’. ‘Match with meaty monkfish,’ concluded Forrest.

£12.52 Christopher Piper Wines

On encountering this worthy Gold winner, Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia thought it was defined by its elegance, describing ‘elderflower notes with light nuances of gooseberry and greengage’. Meanwhile Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason described it as ‘savoury on the nose, with some ripe lychee, peach and jasmine aromas, leading to a weighty body, with ripe fruit and fresh acidity’, adding that it would be an ideal match for risotto.

£8.00 Toppesfield Vineyard

‘Precise and well made,’ thought Davide Dall’Amico of Royal Automobile Club, who described a wine that was ‘mineral, with gooseberry and asparagus notes, and with a long finish’. Eva Krenkova of Restaurant Sat Bains appreciated its ‘structured palate and notes of lemon zest and white flowers’.

£17.54 Bibendum

Team leader Tom Forrest found an appealing combination of ‘grassy aromas, and some pear and apple, too, leading to rhubarb, nettle and fresh lemon and lime on the palate’. ‘Fresh, perfumed and spicy,’ summarised Eva Krenkova of Restaurant Sat Bains.

£8.45 The Exceptional English Wine Company

This ‘tropical and herbaceous’ wine had ‘intense fruit like lime and grapefruit, along with some mineral notes’, according to team leader Laura Rhys MS. Melody Wong of Ten Trinity Square Private Club, meanwhile, liked its ‘fresh acidity and perfume, with some orange blossom notes’.

£7.25 Lovells Vineyard

Team leader Tom Forrest enjoyed this white blend’s ‘clean, green mineral aromas and mineral freshness on the palate, with some herbal, grass and nettle notes’. ‘Elegant in its simplicity, with green apple and lemon. Good value!’ thought Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm.

£5.78 Laytons, Three Choirs Vineyards Ltd

‘Grapefruit pith and lemon sherbet’ summed up the fresh aroma of this wine for team leader Angela Reddin, who found ‘a slight petillance, with nice balance of acidity’. Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse described ‘dandelion and buttercup’ notes, and recommended this be paired with scallops.

£7.30 Westwell Wine Estates

Team leader Angela Reddin found this English white to have ‘a light nose of crab apple jelly and hawthorn flowers’, while Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles described it as having ‘white fruit aromas joined by asparagus and tomato leaves’.

£7.00 Danebury Vineyards, Wine Utopia

£9.16 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£9.44 Three Choirs Vineyards Ltd

£10.79 Matthew Clark, Camel Valley, St Austell Brewery

£8.50 Gloucester Services

£10.37 Sharpham Wines

£11.92 Enotria&Coe, Christopher Piper Wines, Davy's Wine Merchants

£22.71 Bibendum

£13.78 Liberty Wines

£7.45 Vin-Est, Poulton Hill Estate

This classically styled Gewürz took home the Gold, with team leader Angela Reddin describing ‘spicy-sweet, floral aromas, dried church flowers and plenty of richness on the palate’. Nelio Pinto of Candlesticks thought it ‘rich, and concentrated, with freshness in the background’, while The Don’s Carlos Ferreira felt it would be ‘great with cheese, with its peachy stone fruit aromas and sweet red apple notes, very balanced palate with good acidity and finish’.

£16.62 Matthew Clark

It wasn’t difficult to see how this Gewürztraminer picked up Gold, with what Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms described as ‘a slight richness on the palate, with acidity in place, and with a delicious tropical, lychee finish’. Team leader Laurent Richet MS was generous in praise of its ‘beautiful aromas and delicate, silky palate’, while Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club described ‘tropical aromas, with crisp mandarin zest and sweet guava’.

£10.35 Boutinot

This impressive Gold-winning Riesling had ‘a floral, flinty nose, with honeysuckle notes’, began Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, further describing it as having ‘fresh acidity, with a hint of residual sugar, and a little oily, too’, and adding that the combination was decidedly ‘food friendly’. ‘Slate, rubber and lemon zest,’ added Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms, enjoying its ‘balanced palate, with slight sweetness, and a nice finish, too’.

£13.95 Maisons Marques et Domaines

‘Citrus, mineral and petrol’ notes led, for team leader Lionel Periner, to a palate with ‘green apple, and a dry finish’, while Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason described a wine that was ‘flinty and juicy’ as well as ‘light, zingy and zesty’, offering ‘good value’.

£9.22 Boutinot

‘Lemon pith, smoke and slate,’ described Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms, further finding ‘racy acidity’ on the palate, while Timothy Connor of Core by Clare Smyth liked the ‘touch of smokiness’ on this ‘rich, complex and balanced’ wine.

£16.20 Enotria&Coe

£9.97 Wine Importers

£10.52 Bibendum

£9.99 Frederic Robinson

£7.07 Frederic Robinson

£7.59 Boutinot

‘Plush body, good winemaking here,’ said Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte, who enjoyed the ‘moderate wood integration, nutmeg and spice hints, long length and medium tannins’.

£16.25 Liberty Wines

‘Medium-bodied with a delicate nature,’ said Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte, who liked this wine’s ‘soft red fruit aromas, violet and wet earth palate with garden berries dominating’.

£8.96 Hatch Mansfield, Matthew Clark

‘Smells as though it has some age – and looks like it too,’ began Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte, before admiring its ‘old wooden furniture character, tobacco and vanilla, making this very seductive with a long, tertiary finish. Super: un-Beaujolais’.

£18.44 Hatch Mansfield, Matthew Clark

‘Sweet red fruit aromas, notes of kirsch, banana, candy floss and gentle mulberry perfume,’ began Edgaras Kazokaitis of Roka Aldwych, noting ‘flavours not too pronounced, but it’s light and appealing’.

£6.68 Boutinot

‘A restrained style, but good and enjoyable now, as well as having some ageing potential,’ began Winexponent’s Simon Cassina, with Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte noting ‘ripe red fruits, nice purity with bigger body and secondary flavours of earthy minerals and some leather on the finish’.

£12.50 Bibendum

‘Maturing aromas of cherry and wild strawberry, earthy notes too,’ said Edgaras Kazokaitis of Roka Aldwych, while finding it ‘more complex on the palate, with soft tannins and balanced acidity’.

£12.45 Bibendum

£11.38 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£10.00 Davy's Wine Merchants

£8.92 Oedoria

£9.08 Oedoria

‘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

This worthy Gold winner had ‘bright fruit with a farmyard note on the nose’ for consultant Charles Pashby-Taylor, who praised ‘a big amount of red cherries that give racy acidity to the palate, with flint and leafy plums, too’. Tatiana Mann of The Vine Eno Gastro Pub found a ‘touch of wildness on the nose but fresh, fruity red berry character too, some green tannins but soft on the palate with a pleasant and refreshing style’.

£11.48 Domaine de la Jobeline

‘A lovely expression, floral and elegant,’ began team leader Annette Scarfe MW, noting ‘red cherry fruit and balanced tannin, would be great with food’, while Hakkasan Mayfair’s Jurijs Nemkovs found ‘lots of redcurrant and cranberry, some judicious oak use delivering a warming vanilla coating to the fruit’.

£20.75 Matthew Clark

Masahito Suzuki of The Social Company found ‘raspberry fruit with a hint of red beans and moderate intensity’, while Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin enjoyed this wine’s ‘broad, ripe cherries, fleshy forest floor aromas, juicy and forward palate showing dark cherries in brandy, savoury and juicy on the finish’.

£19.22 Berkmann Wine Cellars

While The Social Company’s Masahito Suzuki highlighted ‘strawberry, leather and forest floor with limestone mineral and a well-balanced structure’, Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin enjoyed its ‘tight and gamey, savoury spiced character, very soft and supple with fleshy, bitter cherry and dark chocolate notes’.

£30.99 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

While Tatiana Mann of The Vine Eno Gastro Pub found this to have a ‘low intensity aroma nose’, on the palate she described ‘depth and pleasant length with red fruit and peppery notes, and earthier tones on the finish’, and Hakkasan Mayfair’s Jurijs Nemkovs liked its ‘good red cherry and strawberry aromas, moderate acidity and ripe tannins’.

£43.08 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Elegant, with a lovely freshness on the palate,’ began team leader Annette Scarfe MW, highlighting its ‘soft, ripe red berry fruit and delicate tannins’, with Tatiana Mann of The Vine Eno Gastro Pub noting ‘pure violet and earthy notes, light body opening up in elegant style’.

£15.37 Domaine de la Jobeline

‘Juicy, drink-young style with fine raspberry and cedar aromas,’ began team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, also highlighting ‘more juicy raspberry on the palate, overlaid with attractive chocolate and spiced cherry notes, light and refreshing’.

£13.32 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£42.63 ADVINI

£49.08 ADVINI

£45.25 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£24.11 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£28.29 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£18.84 Enotria&Coe

£37.25 Hatch Mansfield, Matthew Clark

£18.25 Hatch Mansfield, Matthew Clark

‘A juicy and refreshing wine, full of life and warmth,’ was team leader Jade Koch’s thoughts on this Chablis as it clinched Gold, finding it to be ‘a happy wine, with good acidity and minerality’. Aurel Istrate of The Connaught liked its ‘well-integrated fruit flavours and good acidity’, while Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm enjoyed ‘red apple and cotton candy notes, with a touch of salinty that lengthens the steely finish’.

£13.38 Bibendum

This Gold Lister represented ‘a richer style of Chablis, with ripe lemon and a flinty backbone, not to mention a creamy mid-palate,’ thought team leader Annette Scarfe MW, with Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine praising ‘good fruit, and some minerality, too’. ‘A dainty nose with floral and sea-breeze notes’ led, for Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm, to ‘fresh citrus and green apple’ on the palate, while Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason thought it ‘rich, rounded, deep and food-friendly’.

£19.08 Top Selection Ltd

Erik Simonics of La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons thought this was ‘rich, complex and rounded, with some stone fruit and citrus notes’, while for Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine it was ‘punchy and powerful – playful with the fruit, yet grown up, too’.

£26.86 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘This is showing good Chablis typicity, with a steely, mineral edge, but with a citrus element, and a yoghurt note too,’ said team leader Annette Scarfe MW, while Piers Gibson-Birch of Wernher Restaurant at Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa thought it ‘floral and expressive, with some creaminess on the palate – it would be hard to find better value for the price’.

£18.50 Laytons, Swig Wines, Caterite Food and Wineservice

Erik Simonics of La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons found this ‘well balanced, rounded and complex’, while team leader Annette Scarfe MW described it as a ‘mineral-driven style, with green apples and lemon sherbet on the very fresh palate’.

£20.95 Swig Wines

‘This is showing lovely typicity, with both minerality and citrus fruit,’ said team leader Annette Scarfe MW, while Erik Simonics of La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons found it ‘rich and complex, with some oak, and some creaminess, too’.

£41.13 Enotria&Coe

‘A good example, both refreshing and linear,’ began team leader Jade Koch, finding ‘blossom and hints of peach, but remaining steely to the finish, too’. In addition, Yohann Pinol of Wiltons liked its ‘elegant fruit and freshness, with good minerality’.

£15.91 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘Classic Chablis, with a fresh and dry profile, and with a citrus note, too,’ began Gabriele Galuppo of Theo Randall at the InterContinental, while Roka Aldwych’s Edgaras Kazokaitis enjoyed ‘mineral notes and fresh kiwi fruit, leading to a very refreshing palate with dominant citrus flavours’.

£18.06 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘A classic, fruit-forward style,’ began Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine, describing ‘powerful lemon and lime notes, with some minerality, too’. Piers Gibson-Birch of Wernher Restaurant at Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa thought it ‘a rich style, with buttery notes and astounding length’.

£23.42 Enotria&Coe

£21.10 Liberty Wines

£11.50 Fuller's

To hear the judges describe this, it couldn’t have been anything but Gold, with Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte finding aromas of ‘black peppercorns and earth, then a medium-weight red fruit palate – so delicious, and great value’, while Vinoteca’s Charlie Young found ‘leafy, pencil-lead aromas leading to plenty of acidity and more graphite notes on the palate, with a ripe red-fruit character on the finish’. And at the price, Winexponent’s Simon Cassina thought it an excellent by-the-glass option.

£6.55 Levin Wines

As this took its place on the Gold podium, Davide Dall’Amico of Royal Automobile Club described an attractive nose of ‘chalk, grass, peach and a floral bouquet, leading to a palate with juicy acidity and good ripeness’, while team leader Tom Forrest spoke of a ‘laser-sharp wine streaked with minerality’. ‘Taut, with a pure, beautiful nose and bright, steely palate, with smoke, greengage and grassy notes,’ added Mediterroenean’s Leonie Loudon.

£19.02 Matthew Clark

It was an impressed judging panel that elevated this Loire Chenin to Gold, finding it ‘a great food wine’, according to team leader Annette Scarfe MW, and ‘well balanced and integrated, with delicate apple notes on nose and palate’. Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm found it to have ‘good weight and acidity, as well as complexity and texture’, while Eva Krenkova of Restaurant Sat Bains praised its ‘ripe style and lively acidity’.

£11.03 Bibendum

For team leader Laura Rhys MS, this combined ‘juicy, ripe citrus fruit, pineapple and kiwi fruit, as well as some minerality’, all leading to, according to Melody Wong of Ten Trinity Square Private Club, ‘a dry finish that makes this food-friendly’.

£11.25 Hatch Mansfield

Davide Dall’Amico of Royal Automobile Club had nothing but praise for this wine, finding ‘a delicate and mineral nose, leading to a more biscuity palate, and with some stone fruit notes, too. Quite a precise wine, with a long finish.’

£7.76 Wine Importers

‘A really fresh and clean wine, with some saline notes and bags of citrus’ was Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm’s summary, while Davide Dall’Amico of Royal Automobile Club enjoyed ‘stone fruit, chalk and oyster shell on the nose, with the palate reflecting those flavours in perfect balance’.

£10.40 The Oxford Wine Company

‘A lipsmackingly fresh wine, with lots of green fruit aromas like gooseberry, apple and green pear,’ said impressed team leader Tom Forrest, who went on to describe ‘a fresh, mineral palate with more of those green fruit notes’.

£15.89 Hatch Mansfield, Matthew Clark

This was a complex mix of ‘red apple, apple blossom, peach, honey and white flowers’, thought Melody Wong of Ten Trinity Square Private Club, who went on to find ‘good texture on the palate, with a touch of creaminess and a candied lemon finish’.

£14.04 Hatch Mansfield, Matthew Clark

Team leader Lionel Periner found ‘dark fruit, oak extraction and coffee beans on the nose, with a nicely balanced, youthful palate and drying tannins’, while Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte liked its ‘redcurrant skin, sour cherry and old wooden chest resonating on the palate, and long, toasty-leathery finish’.

£18.20 Levin Wines

‘A little earth and hints of manure on the nose, wet hay,’ began Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte, also picking up ‘red cherry and purple fruit, liquorice notes on a soft palate’, concluding: ‘Damn good.’

£16.04 Matthew Clark

Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston found an appealing combination of ‘fresh mint, hay and honey, as well as gooseberry notes, culminating in a long finish’, which team leader Laura Rhys MS summed up as ‘a classic style of Sauvignon’.

£8.07 Jascots Wine Merchants

Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia was drawn to this wine’s ‘lifted aromas of lemon and gooseberry, and well-balanced but mouthwatering palate’, while team leader Tom Forrest picked up on ‘mineral green aromas, some grassy notes, ripe fruit on the palate with a tropical pineapple hint, mineral freshness and lime on the finish’.

£10.42 Jascots Wine Merchants

£15.96 Hatch Mansfield, Matthew Clark

£16.39 Bibendum

£12.45 Boutinot

£12.95 Boutinot

£13.95 Boutinot

£11.04 Liberty Wines

£8.53 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£9.38 Matthew Clark

£22.23 Matthew Clark

An inevitable Gold to hear our judges speak of it, with Mediterroenean – Wines of the Mediterranean’s Leonie Loudon enamoured with its ‘pure, vivid nose with blackberry and plum, and a very attractive and juicy palate that’s all about the fruit, cut by some spice and dried herbs’. Team leader Angela Reddin was impressed by ‘smoky hints and herbal lift with good length’, while The Don’s Carlos Ferreira very much enjoyed its ‘black fruits and white pepper on an elegant palate that’s fruity and juicy with very well-balanced tannins’.

£9.35 Matthew Clark

‘Wild and full of character’ was Hamish Anderson of Tate Catering’s appraisal of this intriguing Gold medallist, finding ‘mint and red fruits’ on the nose, and a palate that was ‘gravelly, with minerals, bacon and herbs’. ‘A well-structured wine with lovely ripe berry character and a long finish,’ thought Yohann Pinol of Wiltons, while The Connaught’s Aurel Istrate added praise for this ‘complex wine with some well-structured oak’.

£13.74 Bibendum

‘A big, ambitious wine that’s packed with ripe bramble fruit – complex, and with a long finish,’ said team leader Annette Scarfe MW, with fellow team leader Laura Rhys MS describing it as ‘meaty and gamey, with dark fruits and lovely spice notes’.

£21.00 SH Jones

This Languedoc red was ‘traditional in style, with ripe tannins and good acidity’ thought Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants, while team leader Laurent Richet MS described it as ‘a ripe, velvety wine, with chocolate, tobacco and prune notes’.

£16.83 Matthew Clark

‘Ripe black cherry fruit, as well as plums, and some grippy tannins,’ was Adam Michocki of Glasshouse’s description of this wine, with team leader Laurent Richet MS finding ‘good balance, with fruit and spices, and some chocolate notes, too’.

£12.90 De Burgh

‘An oaky, rich wine that’s fruity and juicy on the nose, leading to a rich and full-bodied palate with dark fruit, sweet spices and juicy tannins,’ thought Erik Simonics of La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons, adding: ‘A well-balanced wine, with a long finish.’

£16.10 Bibendum

‘A fruit-driven wine balanced by some velvet tannins, and with a toasty note, too,’ summarised Gabriele Galuppo of Theo Randall at the InterContinental, with Aurel Istrate of The Connaught describing ‘pleasant red fruit, good oak and vanilla notes, and an excellent finish’.

£16.02 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Lovely red bramble fruit with fresh acidity, cedar and spice on the finish,’ thought team leader Annette Scarfe MW, while Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine found it to be a ‘smooth, complex and balanced wine, with good length, and good balance of tannin too’.

£16.00 Domaine of the Bee

Dominique Raclin of Loire Vélo Nature felt this had ‘an excellent attack, with good length, and some minerality, too’, while team leader Annette Scarfe MW found ‘attractive black and red bramble fruit on the nose, which follows through on to the palate’.

£8.65 Matthew Clark

‘Elegant, structured and balanced’ was Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurant’s first impression of this Carignan, with team leader Laurent Richet MS further describing a wine with ‘lovely structure and balance, with dark fruit, as well as some vanilla notes’.

£21.35 Bibendum

‘Juicy and easy drinking,’ began Erik Simonics of La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons, going on to describe a wine that is ‘subtle and balanced’. Piers Gibson-Birch of Wernher Restaurant at Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa enjoyed ‘bramble character with a pleasing richness, as well as balanced oak and acidity’.

£10.12 Enotria&Coe

While this was ‘very young’, according to team leader Laurent Richet MS, it nevertheless had ‘lovely fruit, like red and black cherries, as well as cranberries, plums, and vanilla, too’. Glasshouse’s Adam Michocki described it as ‘a concentrated wine, with smooth, ripe tannins’.

£8.68 Carlsberg UK

‘A good example of Languedoc,’ began team leader Jade Koch, while Gabriele Galuppo of Theo Randall at the InterContinental spoke of a nose that was ‘nice and complex, with some toasty notes’ and led to ‘a fruit-driven palate, with secondary and tertiary flavours’.

£16.83 Matthew Clark

This Mourvèdre opened with ‘juicy black cherries and plums, according to Adam Michocki of Glasshouse, who described a palate that was ‘ripe, juicy and concentrated, with good structure – outstanding value!’ ‘A big wine for the price,’ summarised team leader Laurent Richet MS.

£6.48 Boutinot

Dominique Raclin of Loire Vélo Nature thought this had ‘character typical of southern France’, while Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine described it as having ‘good fruit, like redcurrants and blackberries, and powerful tannins that will soften with age’.

£11.85 Boutinot

‘A fun and fruity wine that nevertheless has some drying tannins,’ thought team leader Jade Koch, who described ‘plum and bramble fruit before a clean, refreshing finish that has some pepper notes, too’, while Yohann Pinol of Wiltons found ‘complex aromas of ripe fruit, leather and smoke, with a rich and well-balanced palate’.

£8.73 Barwell & Jones

‘A very complex nose, with redcurrants and ripe berries,’ began Yohann Pinol of Wiltons, continuing: ‘Very elegant on the palate, with silky tannins and all of the fruit we had on the nose, as well as good length.’

£8.66 Enotria&Coe

This was ‘charming, velvety and elegant’, according to Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants, while Glasshouse’s Adam Michocki found it to be a complex blend of ‘ripe black cherries, cassis and menthol, with ripe tannins and a long finish’. ‘A very scented and smoky wine’ that would be a good match for cassoulet, thought team leader Laurent Richet MS.

£45.34 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£17.20 Liberty Wines

£7.93 Carlsberg UK

£10.85 De Burgh

£16.70 De Burgh

£5.85 LWC Drinks Ltd (Merchant and Shippers)

£6.25 Molson Coors

£10.16 Top Selection Ltd

£14.77 Top Selection Ltd

£7.49 Majestic Commercial

£8.08 Enotria&Coe

£10.61 Bibendum

£7.66 Bibendum

‘Everything you’d expect from Muscat,’ began Timothy Connor of Core by Clare Smyth, confirming this wine’s spot on the Gold podium, and going on to describe a wine that was ‘light, aromatic and well balanced’. Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms spoke of ‘classic floral and lemon curd notes, with bracing acidity’, while Sue Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn described it as ‘crisp but rounded, with a lovely flowing texture’, before adding: ‘Great for the price!’

£6.79 Molson Coors

Our judges weren’t shy in their praise of this Chardonnay as they elevated it to Gold. For Mikolaj Harmider of Adam’s Restaurant, it was ‘very elegant, with ripe apple and citrus notes, as well as some roasted vanilla, and a long finish’. Andrés Ituarte of Coq d’Argent, meanwhile, found it to be ‘dry and saline, with peach and pear notes, and some moderate acidity – a delicate wine with a long finish’.

£9.71 Direct Wines Production

‘A cooler-climate Viognier,’ thought Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn, going on to describe this worthy Gold medal recipient’s ‘good fruit and minerality, as well as some just-ripe apricot notes’, while team leader Annette Scarfe MW identified ‘delicate white peach skin and creamy vanilla notes, well balanced by some sweeter spice on the finish’. The Connaught’s Aurel Istrate liked its notes of ‘jasmine and camomile’, while finding the acidity ‘very well balanced’.

£6.34 Boutinot

The first in a category with a particularly high Gold medal hit rate, this had appealing ‘nectarine and blossom aromas’, according to Wernher Restaurant at Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa’s Piers Gibson-Birch. Team leader Annette Scarfe MW had praise for its ‘varietal typicity and excellent value for money, with apricots and an oily texture’, while Portland Restaurant’s Carolina Seibel found it ‘fresh and slightly spiced, with good pear fruit’.

£6.25 Molson Coors

‘A lovely attack of peach fruit and white peach skin,’ began team leader Annette Scarfe MW, as this took home a well-deserved Gold, going on to describe the palate as ‘oily, well textured and complex’. Wernher Restaurant at Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa’s Piers Gibson-Birch, meanwhile, described ‘ripe apricot’ and ‘good oak usage and intensity of fruit’, and The Connaught’s Aurel Istrate found it ‘crisp, with a touch of ripe orange and marmalade’.

£10.54 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

A Grenache Gris that couldn’t be anything but Gold, according to our judges, with team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW finding it to be ‘characterful, with exotic fruit and a refined palate with refreshing acidity’, while Mikolaj Harmider of Adam’s Restaurant described it as ‘full-bodied and mineral, with camomile, pear and white peaches, as well as some grapefruit and lemon notes’. ‘Very pretty and elegant,’ summed up team leader Jade Koch succinctly.

£30.44 Bibendum

‘Brightly aromatic, with good weight and texture,’ began team leader Nigel Lister, who thought it had ‘notes of pear, quince and cream’, while Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club found ‘white flower and elderflower, along with crisp lemon and fresh, herbal aromas’.

£6.66 Majestic Commercial

‘Floral, aromatic and honeyed, with some quince notes,’ began Le Cordon Bleu London’s Matthieu Longuère MS, leading to ‘crisp acidity and some spicy oak on a palate that’s quite broad and concentrated’, which team leader Angela Reddin thought showed ‘depth and great integration, with a very pleasing finish’.

£26.56 Top Selection Ltd

Team leader Nigel Lister identified this Gold medallist as a ‘good aperitif, with fresh, zesty mandarin and grapefruit notes, as well as some peach’, while Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club described ‘fresh lemongrass and some gentle stone fruit, with citrus zest’.

£6.80 Eurowines

For Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine, this was packed with ‘lemon and lime notes’ and ‘fresh, bright acidity’, while team leader Angela Reddin described it as ‘a fresh style, with cooked pears and apples, and some pineapple cubes on the finish’.

£7.49 Majestic Commercial

‘Ripe and racy’, this was also ‘steely, with complex petrol notes, and some viscosity, as well as balanced acidity’, thought Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, while Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms found ‘stone fruit and candied peach’ notes, and thought this ‘an interesting by-the-glass option’.

£11.04 Bibendum

Jurijs Nemkovs of Hakkasan Mayfair described an ‘aromatic nose with some oiliness on the palate, with some good acidity and a full body, with a floral note and a long finish’, while Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte thought it was ‘good quality, with lots of apricot and cream notes’.

£8.68 The Oxford Wine Company

‘This could be a house wine,’ commented team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, describing a wine that was ‘slightly floral, and a little pithy, too’. Mikolaj Harmider of Adam’s Restaurant, meanwhile, liked its ‘simple, fresh style, with citrus and a steely minerality’.

£5.85 LWC Drinks Ltd (Merchant and Shippers)

For Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine this had distinct ‘Viognier flavours, with some sweet spice and floral notes underlying some citrus and bright acidity’, while team leader Annette Scarfe MW singled it out for its ‘lovely freshness on the palate’.

£6.92 Davy's Wine Merchants

‘A perfumed nose of elderflower and tropical fruit’ kicked things off here for Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club, who went on to describe a palate that was ‘well balanced, with fresh stone fruit, and leading to a complex finish with some toffee apple’.

£9.75 ADVINI

£7.35 Davy's Wine Merchants

£12.35 Liberty Wines

£7.95 Boutinot

£6.25 Molson Coors

£7.35 Eurowines

£7.45 Eurowines

£6.55 Majestic Commercial

£9.35 Matthew Clark

‘Massive but classy’ was Lutyens Bar & Restaurants’ Mattia Mazzi’s first impression of this Gold medallist, going on to describe it as ‘intense, fine and concentrated’, while team leader Laura Rhys MS noted ‘ripe citrus, toasted nuts, spice and mineral notes’. Yohann Pinol of Wiltons summed all of this up as ‘very complex and well-textured, with well-integrated oak’, which made it the ideal partner for ‘Dover sole, either meunière or grilled’.

£37.76 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘A generous wine, with ripe, almost bruised fruit character, and some minerality, too,’ said Mattia Mazzi off Lutyens Bar & Restaurants of this Gold medal-winning Bourgogne Blanc, while Glasshouse’s Adam Michocki found ‘peach, ripe lemon, melon and vanilla, with an intense, complex and buttery palate’. Sumilier’s Sumita Sarma enjoyed its ‘rounded texture and mouthwatering acidity with mineral undertones, and a hint of nuttiness underlying the flavours’, imagining it perfectly matched ‘with spaghetti bolognese’.

£14.99 Top Selection Ltd

Not only the second in a pair of Gold medals for Lequin-Colin this year, but also the second year in succession that this wine has made it on to the SWA Gold List. Praised by Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants for its ‘nutty and intense’ nose, describing the palate as ‘fine and elegant, with minerality and good concentration of fruit, and well balanced’, team leader Annette Scarfe MW thought it a ‘superb example of Burgundy – rich, opulent, and with elegant use of oak’. ‘A lovely wine with great potential for ageing,’ added Adam Michocki of Glasshouse.

£28.88 Top Selection Ltd

This Gold-winning Meursault was ‘a sapid wine with citrus peel and hemp aromas, as well as some oyster shell notes’, began team leader Angela Reddin, going on to describe it as ‘complex, with beautiful oak and balance, and a fab finish too’. Fellow team leader Laura Rhys MS was similarly generous with her praise, finding ‘good weight and acidity’ with notes of ‘orange rind, melon, ripe apple and grapefruit’, and considering this a perfect match for ‘roasted quail with creamy potato risotto and toasted hazelnuts’.

£30.75 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘A smoky nose, with notes of cooked apple and spice,’ began team leader Angela Reddin about this Pouilly-Fuissé as it took its Gold medal, going on to describe ‘a lovely, layered palate with tight mineral notes leading to a classy finish’. The perfect match with a Moroccan tagine, thought Sumilier’s Sumita Sarma, who praised this ‘complex wine with its waxy texture and honeyed, spicy finish – with mouthwatering acidity too’.

£19.38 Hatch Mansfield

Adding a Gold to Louis Jadot’s pair of Silver medals, this had a ‘mineral, oyster-shell nose’ that led to a ‘lovely linear flow in the mouth’, according to team leader Angela Reddin in her description of this 100% Aligoté, going on to praise its ‘subtle yet beautifully elegant balance and length’. Three Chimneys Restaurant’s Petri Pentikainen found ‘buttermilk and lemon on the nose’, while enjoying ‘peaches and cream, as well as some honeysuckle on the palate’.

£11.66 Hatch Mansfield

‘Ginger spice’ led to ‘peach, apple and white chalk’ on the palate, according to The London Cookhouse’s Michael Moore, while Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles went on to describe this as ‘an easy-going wine, with rich stone fruit and good acidity, body and balance’.

£14.51 Bibendum

‘A taut and expressive wine,’ began Gold List coordinator Christine Parkinson, going on to describe ‘vanilla and lime on the nose, and then a broad, creamy palate full of cashew nuts, citrus pith and clotted cream’.

£37.22 Bibendum

For Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants this was ‘generous and rounded on the palate, with nutty notes and a persistent finish’, while Sumilier’s Sumita Sarma found ‘refreshing apricot and ripe pear character, with vibrant acidity and richness’. ‘Massive, powerful and intense,’ concluded team leader Laurent Richet MS.

£23.17 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

Enjoyed by all our judges, this showed aromas of ‘golden Russet apples, crème anglaise and roasted nuts, with a palate that’s deep, broad, spicy and honeyed’, said team leader Angela Reddin, with The Don’s Carlos Ferreira highlighting ‘a very citrus nose with vegetal hints and oak, rich and smooth palate with a long, creamy finish’.

£21.25 Top Selection Ltd

This opened with ‘ripe yellow fruits and some nutty, buttery aromas’, according to Adam Michocki of Glasshouse, who went on to describe a palate that was ‘refreshing, with some yoghurt notes’. Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants, meanwhile, praised its ‘good intensity, clean fruit, light oak and good length’.

£13.32 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘A clean and vibrant wine showing lovely structure and good winemaking, with some yellow plum notes,’ began team leader Laurent Richet MS, with Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants praising it for being ‘vibrant, with apple and chalk notes, and good concentration’.

£11.00 Bulles Blanc Rouge

‘A beautifully approachable nose of fresh citrus and tropical fruit, and a mouthwateringly fresh, balanced palate,’ said an impressed Michael Fiducia of Coworth Park Ascot, with team leader Angela Reddin adding that this represented ‘a very particular and individual style, with incredible complexity on both the nose and in the mouth’.

£26.98 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

A ‘fresh, lemony, mouthwatering wine’ thought Adam Michocki of Glasshouse. Team leader Laura Rhys MS agreed, describing it as having ‘fresh, crisp citrus fruit’, while Yohann Pinol of Wiltons thought it a ‘well-balanced wine, with good acidity and minerality’.

£16.72 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£8.84 Boutinot

£33.84 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£8.00 Fuller's

£12.00 Domaine de la Jobeline

£9.85 Hatch Mansfield

The judges were enamored of this Gold-worthy Riesling, finding plenty of aromatic appeal here, with consultant Charles Pashby-Taylor picking up ‘notes of fusel oil, bay leaf herbs, green apple and lavender’, while The Fat Duck’s Melania Bellesini enjoyed its ‘pungent, complex aromas of acacia flowers, honeycomb richness on the palate and long finish with fantastic acidity’. Sahar Gharai of La Dolce Vita Wine Lounge (California) found it ‘not traditional in style, with floral, aromatic notes, and some white pepper spice too’, thinking it a real crowd pleaser.

£16.08 Winetraders

‘An evolved nose, pungent and savoury,’ began team leader Martin Lam of this Gold winner, thinking it was ‘showing fresh lime juice and flowers on the palate, in a very linear and direct style’. ‘Lime, mango and pineapple on the nose, floral notes coming in on the palate and a hint of peach, and a touch of nuttiness on a long finish,’ added The Pig Hotel’s Jacopo Mazzeo. ‘Mouth-coating and silky, with well-integrated alcohol and acidity,’ concluded consultant Javier Azcona.

£17.51 Top Selection Ltd

‘Rich and intense but balanced,’ began The Fat Duck’s Melania Bellesini as this took its place on the Gold podium, finding it ‘very fruity with beautiful acidity, quite juicy and savoury with a touch of sweetness on a long finish of white peaches and gooseberry’, while team leader Jade Koch was equally impressed with its ‘honeysuckle, lovely crunchy acid, pear and peach flavours on the palate with a saline touch’, adding that it would be ‘great with smoked eel’.

£24.60 Top Selection Ltd

This had all the Gold List qualifications, with team leader Martin Lam highlighting an ‘evolving savoury-sweet note on the nose, plus lime and honey’, going on to find ‘keen, zesty lime acidity balancing the residual sugar and lifting the ripe fruit’, while The Pig Hotel’s Jacopo Mazzeo picked up ‘kerosene, dried lime, peach and honey in a refreshing style’. Matthieu Longuère MS of Le Cordon Bleu London thought its ‘peachy and floral rather than mineral’ style perfect for ‘pork pie with orange marmalade’.

£11.97 Boutinot

‘Bright and elegant,’ began team leader Laura Rhys MS as this took home a well-deserved Gold, further describing ‘honeyed, soft fruit like peach and nectarine, with a lovely freshness’. The Pig Hotel’s Jacopo Mazzeo liked its ‘classic’ cut, revealing ‘petrol and honey aromas with dried orange peel, apricot and lime zest notes, then lime juice and marmalade on the palate’, while team leader Martin Lam was impressed by its ‘darker, golden colour, honeyed lime on the nose, complex sweetness and rich, developed style that calls for Roquefort!’

£20.00 Boutinot

Team leader Martin Lam was impressed by this Gold Lister’s ‘classic Pinot Noir nose, with some perfumed notes and lots of aromatics’, finding that the ‘palate is fresh and savoury-sweet’ and describing it as ‘a good Pinot all-round’. Woodhead 17’s James Fryer added his appreciation for its ‘smoky nose, with some white pepper and meaty notes in the background’, while The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston’s Giuseppe Longobardi thought it an excellent match for ‘duck, barley and beetroot with a wine and orange sauce’.

£17.78 Boutinot

‘This is intense quality, and so linear,’ said an impressed Mike Best of the WSET, finding it ‘pure and pristine, with some terrific length too’, while Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason highlighted its ‘fresh, understated palate of tangy citrus and minerality with herbal notes’.

£17.02 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

After ‘pear drops on the nose with hints of jasmine flowers’, team leader Jade Koch found ‘juicy acidity, refreshing mineral mid-palate, excellent fruit and a very clean and zippy finish’, while Mario Tomekovic of Smiths of Smithfield described it as ‘complex and rich, elegant with dry texture and excellent balance’.

£21.36 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘The fruit is discreet, raspberry, delicate and fine on the palate with an earthy touch,’ began Geoffray Bénat of Cépage[s] Wine Bistro, with Woodhead 17’s James Fryer noting ‘cooked plums and peppery black earth on the nose, verging on inky with plenty of pepper and sandy tannin on the palate’.

£18.19 Bibendum

Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason found ‘petrol, tar and graphite aromas, full flavour on the palate with earthy tones, ripe citrus, some bready notes, stone fruit and good minerality’, and described it as ‘complex and long’, while Sahar Gharai of La Dolce Vita Wine Lounge (California) thought it had ‘a great nose of traditional Riesling, with lots of diesel and stone fruit’.

£14.92 Top Selection Ltd

‘Viscosity’ was this wine’s calling card, said Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, making the most of its ‘full body’ and ‘sweet fruits’. He described it as ‘luscious, savoury and honeyed at the same time, with notes of confit fruit and high acidity, but with great balance and smoothness’. ‘Powerful and complex, and will get better,’ added Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn.

£30.33 Top Selection Ltd

‘Peppery on the nose, this has everything: fresh fruit, well balanced, complex and long on the finish,’ began Linh Ziolkowska of Yauatcha City, with Geoffray Bénat of Cépage[s] Wine Bistro finding it ‘intense on the nose, with cherry, ripe raspberry and a touch of leather, smooth and balanced on the palate with more cherry and raspberry, juicy and long’.

£24.85 Liberty Wines

While Mario Tomekovic of Smiths of Smithfield highlighted ‘juicy apple and peach aromas with a light hint of petrol on the palate’, team leader Jade Koch found it ‘taut, lean, spritzy and zippy’, with consultant Javier Azcona adding appreciation for its ‘stony minerality and silky palate, with a long finish’.

£8.39 Boutinot

‘Complex, aromatic nose, intense lime juice and zest on the palate with good persistence,’ said team leader Martin Lam, while The Connaught’s Aurel Istrate enjoyed its ‘light jasmine aromas, hints of grapefruit and orange zest with a nice clean finish’.

£11.97 Boutinot

This appealed to The Pig Hotel’s Jacopo Mazzeo, who described it as having ‘full, concentrated fruit, a bouquet ranging from green fruit to stone fruit and floral notes of blossom and geranium, followed by a nutty finish’, adding that it ‘will be able to age’, while team leader Laura Rhys MS liked its ‘minerality, with good weight and texture’.

£14.00 GK Wine House

This Riesling stood out for its ‘subtle aromatics, peach and tropical fruit with amazingly pungent minerality’, said Mario Tomekovic of Smiths of Smithfield, who also highlighted ‘flinty and petroleum characters so well integrated, amazing balance and a long aftertaste, to be enjoyed with food’.

£14.50 GK Wine House

This was all about the citrus for Aurel Istrate of The Connaught, who highlighted its ‘fresh and crisp nose, well-balanced acidity with plenty of lemon zest, fresh lime and a hint of orange on the palate’, while team leader Laura Rhys MS found ‘pineapple and guava, with some white pepper spice, too’.

£16.23 Bibendum

Consultant Charles Pashby-Taylor was taken with this Riesling’s ‘floral, magnolia nose with yellow rose petal notes, and a palate that has lovely fresh acidity with red apple fruit and a finish of jasmine tea’.

£9.00 Boutinot

£11.91 Matthew Clark

£11.73 Winetraders

£17.65 Winetraders

£14.08 Bibendum

£11.68 Bibendum

£8.97 Bibendum

£12.75 Bibendum

£14.64 Bibendum

£21.40 Bibendum

£8.51 Boutinot

Unquestionably Gold, this was made in a ‘spicy, Chenin-like’ style, thought team leader Martin Lam, observing a ‘golden colour and rich, dry, honey and flower aromas with a dry, floral palate’, while Yauatcha City’s Linh Ziolkowska enjoyed its ‘lovely camomile and tropical nose with honeydew melon and honey notes, then pronounced, fleshy peach and pineapple on the palate’, which made it ‘very easy to drink’. With its ‘waxy lime-fruit nose and lovely peachy fruit in the mouth’, this was, for team leader Angela Reddin, a great match for vegetable risotto.

£8.50 Southern Wine Roads

A unanimous Gold, according to an impressed team of judges, with Christoph Hons of Park Chinois finding ‘peaches, orange, mango and yellow fruit notes’ and describing this as ‘very crisp on the palate with vanilla and herbal richness, yet refreshing acidity to balance’, while Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS thought it was ‘vibrant, with fresh green flavours throughout, great drive and balance, a weighty mid-palate and a clean, fresh finish’.

£14.33 Hallgarten & Novum Wines, Maltby & Greek

A hit with our judges, this Macedonian red struck Gold with its ‘opulent and modern’ style, thought Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin, who further praised ‘savoury, juicy tannins and cocoa, smoke, cigar leaves and cedar notes’, while Davide Dall’Amico of Royal Automobile Club found the oak ‘well integrated’, along with ‘ripe red and black fruit, as well as some spice from the oak’. Team leader Tom Forrest agreed, finding ‘crunchy red fruit and some toasty spice’. Its ‘pronounced intensity’ made it a match for chicken breast with chilli sauce, thought consultant Javier Azcona.

£15.89 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

For Eva Krenkova of Restaurant Sat Bains, this had ‘jammy red and dark fruit on the nose, leading to juicy, silky tannins joined by some rosemary and mint’. Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm, meanwhile, liked its ‘lovely earthy tones and delicate tannins’.

£13.19 Hallgarten & Novum Wines, Maltby & Greek

Team leader Tom Forrest was taken with this red blend’s ‘spicy aromas with dark cherries and berries, leading to juicy, dark fruit flavours that are well integrated with some oak’, and described it as ‘culminating in a smooth finish with a kick of charcuterie spice’.

£13.40 Hallgarten & Novum Wines, Maltby & Greek

Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS found ‘acacia and fresh buttery aromas, with spices from oak, cooked apples and pears and blossom hints, with great drive on the palate’, and Manuel Ribeiro of The Bybrook at The Manor House Hotel enjoyed its ‘ripe peach, apple, vanilla and butter aromas’ and found it ‘intense and complex, with citric notes on a good, oaky palate’, with ‘hints of toast and honey on the finish’.

£20.56 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Rose petals and lychee on the nose,’ began Woodhead 17’s James Fryer, finding ‘an oily texture on the palate with waxy lemon and green melon, salty minerals on the finish with a hint of perfume’, while for Yauatcha City’s Linh Ziolkowska it was a ‘very enjoyable glass, with a pronounced floral nose, nice freshness and a long finish’.

£13.55 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Fresh and powerfully structured, with red apple joined by a gamey note, as well as some pine needles and spice,’ said an impressed Davide Dall’Amico of Royal Automobile Club. ‘A lovely wine, from its earthy nose to its fine-grained tannins and minerality,’ added Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm.

£9.25 Wine Lovers Colective

Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS liked this wine’s ‘nose of acacia and spring flowers with candied peel herbaceous notes, then vibrant character with ripeness on the mid-palate, chalky mineral notes and a touch of spicy heat on the finish’.

£10.37 Bibendum

Eva Krenkova of Restaurant Sat Bains liked this wine’s ‘raspberry and marmalade notes joined by some bay leaf and thyme’, while Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm found that herbal character and ‘black olive notes complemented juicy, ripe fruit, leading to a long finish’.

£14.59 Bibendum

£9.25 Wine Lovers Colletive

£9.25 Wine Lovers Colletive

£9.25 Wine Lovers Colletive

£7.00 Southern Wine Roads

£10.50 Southern Wine Roads

£8.95 Boutinot

£9.79 Boutinot

£9.39 Bibendum

£10.75 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£15.35 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

This Gold winner ticked all the boxes for a house red, with The Don’s Carlos Ferreira describing aromas of ‘strawberry and cherry jam’, and finding it ‘a bit spicy and oaky on a palate that’s very fresh, with an elegant, long finish’, while Manuel Ribeiro of The Bybrook at The Manor House Hotel also found ‘hints of spice, as well as plums and chocolate’. Team leader Martin Lam added his praise for ‘sweet and savoury balance on the palate, with some soft tannins’, and suggested a pairing with lamb.

£4.95 Atlantico UK

Taking Gold in no small part for its versatile food-friendliness, this was described by team leader Tom Forrest as having ‘ripe, stewy red fruits and rhubarb notes on the nose, with more rhubarb and raspberry on the palate, with some ripe notes and light tannins’. ‘Bold and pleasing,’ thought Christopher Parker of Lime Wood Hotel, describing ‘raspberry compote, pepper and baking spice’, while Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles praised its ‘intense, fruity nose and soft, creamy palate’.

£5.76 Boutinot

A ‘beautiful bright colour and very pleasant array of aromas’ left an early impression on Yohann Pinol of Wiltons, who also noted this accomplished Gold’s ‘strawberry and raspberry fruit and high structure’. ‘Violet, plum, chocolate with red berry sweetness and smooth, medium body,’ added Markus Dilger of Dilger Sommelier Selection, while Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club enjoyed ‘sweet cassis and fresh-baked cinnamon cake notes, with some baked red fruit leading to a fresh finish’.

£6.00 Matthew Clark

As it picked up a well-deserved Gold medal, Adam Michocki of Glasshouse thought this was the ‘perfect for red wine lovers during summer’, with its ‘perfumed, confectionery nose of ripe strawberries and cherries’, describing it as ‘soft and delicate on the palate but intense with a long finish’. Team leader Jade Koch appreciated its ‘light and lifted’ character and ‘refreshing tea leaf’ notes, while Portland Restaurant’s Carolina Seibel enjoyed its ‘herbaceousness, alongside good dark and red fruit’.

£5.33 Majestic Commercial

This fresh-fruited red took home the Gold with ‘a nice nose with red cherry and strawberry fruit’, according to The Don’s Carlos Ferreira, adding that ‘the balance is good, and ideal for a summer barbecue’. Team leader Jade Koch agreed, calling it ‘very good, with a refreshing, drying finish’, while Michael Fiducia of Coworth Park Ascot praised ‘lifted, perfumed aromas and crunchy fruit’, and Carolina Seibel of Portland Restaurant specifically noted its ‘good grip, with firm tannins’.

£4.74 Majestic Commercial

This Gold winner was made in a ‘friendly, fresh-fruit style’, praised team leader Martin Lam, with Le Gavroche’s Rémi Cousin finding it ‘really pleasant, with strawberries, raspberries and dark cherries, and a soft, velvety texture’. Tatiana Mann of The Vine Eno Gastro Pub described a ‘purple-black wine, with deep, rich, ripe fruits on the nose’, and ‘raisins and fig, appassimento style’, concluding that it was a ‘great by-the-glass option’.

£5.88 Sivipa - Sociedade Vinícola de Palmela, S.A.

A hit with our judges, this Gold winner drew praise from Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm for its ‘red fruit and granite, well-integrated oak and clean finish’, while Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club noted its ‘sweet spicy plum with complex clove notes, gentle red berry with charming sweet Moroccan spices and a delicate finish’. ‘Juicy, ripe fruit and some elegance’ made this, for team leader Laura Rhys MS, a perfect match for ‘roast pork with apple sauce and crackling’.

£5.40 CyT UK

Gold through and through, this was a ‘lively, well-textured wine’, said Yohann Pinol of Wiltons, thinking it ‘elegant with lots of red fruit aromas and a touch leathery, but well balanced with a pleasant finish’. ‘Dark cherries and plums, good body, fresh acidity and medium length,’ added Markus Dilger of Dilger Sommelier Selection, while Tate Catering’s Hamish Anderson thought its ‘dark bramble fruit and spice, with some earthiness and good structure’ couldn't have been a better match for a burger.

£5.30 Fuller's

Vinoteca’s Charlie Young declared this a ‘good package’ overall, with its ‘plum and berry fruit, dryish character on the palate with some texture, and not overdone’, while Yohann Pinol of Wiltons found it ‘easy drinking, with red berries and light tannins’.

£4.50 Fuller's

Team leader Annette Scarfe MW found a ‘restrained nose, warm and understated on the palate with ripe but studied tannins, well balanced with a dry finish’, while The Vine Eno Gastro Pub’s Tatiana Mann enjoyed its ‘value for money, pleasant style with a spicy and vibrant finish’.

£5.52 Amathus

‘Good intensity, complex nose with some secondary and savoury characteristics, gamey notes on the palate with a thick layer of red and dark fruits and a long finish,’ said a satisfied Jurijs Nemkovs of Hakkasan Mayfair.

£5.24 Majestic Commercial

A ‘light and drinkable’ style, began Debbie Warner of Wild Wine Club, while Aurel Istrate of The Connaught observed ‘red fruit notes on the nose and a pleasant palate with some greener hints on a medium finish’.

£5.94 Boutinot

‘A good all-rounder at a great price,’ began Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, who was impressed by its ‘elegant, bright, red fruit nose, soft ripe tannins, good structure and fresh fruit palate with earthy coffee notes, all balanced with good acidity and length’.

£5.31 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Team leader Martin Lam described this as a wine showing ‘raspberry and blackberry fruit, chalky tannins and a good structure, not over-worked’, with Sue Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn adding: ‘Vegetal and spicy, silky and perfumed, with restrained but decent oak flavours.’

£5.75 Boutinot

‘Raspberry aromas with herbs and a hint of mushroom,’ said Yauatcha City’s Javier Alonso Cardoso, noting it as a ‘juicy wine with a lasting fruity flavour and velvety tannins’. ‘Lifted aromatics and bramble fruit, generous and appealing,’ added team leader Angela Reddin.

£5.69 Molson Coors

The Don’s Carlos Ferreira found ‘black berries and cherry with white spices and pine hints, good acidity and a balanced palate full of fruits’, describing the finish as ‘long and clean’, while Tatiana Mann of The Vine Eno Gastro Pub felt ‘the best thing is its velvety structure of tannins’, and would be ‘happy to add it to my list by the glass’.

£5.95 Milton Sandford Wines

‘A fruit bomb with toast, smoke and some spice in a decent-length finish,’ began Royal Automobile Club’s Davide Dall’Amico, with team leader Martin Lam describing it as a ‘light, quaffable blend, balanced, with a funky nose and dark berry fruit’.

£4.75 CellarVino

This was a good all-rounder for Coq d’Argent’s Lazaros Engonopoulos, revealing ‘sweet redcurrant and black cherries with good integration, elegance and roundness, easy drinking and very pleasant’.

£5.94 Majestic Commercial

Yauatcha City’s Javier Alonso Cardoso enjoyed this wine’s ‘earthy aromas and smoky herbs, good balance of tannin and acids with red fruit and good length’, while Robert Mason of Cheese at Leadenhall picked it as ‘a good by-the-glass pub wine, with baked fruit, raisins and sweet spice on the palate’.

£5.11 Direct Wines Production

James Fryer of Woodhead 17 liked this wine’s ‘carbonic maceration-style purple floral notes with some pepper and violet and a crunchy finish’, while Sumilier’s Sumita Sarma picked out ‘deep black cherry and soft silky tannins’, describing it as‘ very food-friendly yet easy to drink on its own’.

£5.69 Boutinot

Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles found this ‘great value, with intense cherry and violet aromas, soft creamy taste and soft tannins’. Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason agreed, adding: ‘A crowd-pleasing wine, perfect for barbecues, smooth and easy – a Lionel Richie wine.’

£3.77 Rodney Densem

Michael Fiducia of Coworth Park Ascot liked this wine’s ‘fresh, perfumed, cherry fruit aromas’, and its ‘jamminess on the palate, making it simple and approachable’, while The Don’s Carlos Ferreira found it ‘well made with good acidity, a good wine for the price’.

£4.95 Boutinot

‘A fruit-driven, quite savoury and spicy, big and chunky wine,’ said Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin, who thought it showed ‘forest floor notes with a gamey, leafy edge and a savoury, earthy finish’.

£5.38 Boutinot

‘Some richness here,’ began The Harrow at Little Bedwyn’s Sue Jones, ‘with good red and black fruits, tannic but good length and balance on the finish, which has a savoury and pleasing nature.’

£5.98 Boutinot

Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club found ‘fresh raspberry with gentle sweet spices on the nose, then crushed plum with baked notes, light cinnamon suggestions and a fresh finish’.

£5.30 Frederic Robinson

‘Moderate intensity with spices, good entry and velvety tannins, medium length,’ began The Social Company’s Masahito Suzuki, with Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin noting ‘gamey, smoky, tertiary character, supple cherry and plum in brandy notes’.

£5.96 Majestic Commercial

A ‘good value’ wine showing ‘blackberries and black plums on the nose with soft and smoky tannins on the palate’, said Sumilier’s Sumita Sarma, who found it a wine with ‘an ease of style’.

£4.51 Molson Coors

Gymkhana’s Valentin Radosav found ‘red and black fruit, an earthy and savoury character with slight tobacco and bell pepper notes’, while Michael Fiducia of Coworth Park Ascot picked up on ‘herbaceous eucalyptus/menthol and dark fruit with a soft, elegant palate’.

£5.70 Boutinot

An enjoyable style said Valentin Radosav of Gymkhana, who found ‘fresh red fruit, plum and cherry, floral and delicate aromas, sweet spice and ripe tannins on the mid-palate’, describing it as ‘juicy and well balanced with good weight’.

£5.50 Fuller's

This left an impression on Michael Fiducia of Coworth Park Ascot, with its ‘dark blackberry and mocha aromas, with a good, crowd-pleasing, creamy mouthfeel’, while team leader Laurent Richet MS found it ‘easy, rounded with a delicate structure, a great option by the glass’.

£3.79 Broadland Wineries

Adam Michocki of Glasshouse loved the ‘baked plums, black cherries and meaty spices, with well-balanced tannins mellowing on the palate with great fruitiness’, making it ‘smooth, easy drinking and amazing value for money’.

£3.78 Broadland Wineries

A ‘simple, carbonic style with fresh redcurrant and soft tannins, but an amazing price’, began team leader Annette Scarfe MW, with Hakkasan Mayfair’s Jurijs Nemkovs enjoying its ‘fresh, dark fruit dominating the nose, but red fruit on a juicy palate with some floral notes and ripe, soft tannins’.

£4.17 Tees

‘Fresh and approachable, some greenness but berries followed by a hint of leaf and stalk,’ said Sue Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn, while Royal Automobile Club’s Davide Dall’Amico found ‘fruity, floral notes and a touch of spice, light tannins and lovely freshness’.

£5.04 Boutinot

Team leader Simon Woods described this wine as ‘rich and juicy, tender and fleshy, with fragrant plum, damson and blackberry fruit’, while Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm found it a ‘classic, juicy house red, with black cherry pie character, young and supple, very pleasant’.

£5.95 Boutinot

Sue Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn found this a ‘richer, gamier style with blackberry and boysenberry, meaty and savoury’, while team leader Martin Lam noted: ‘Dark red fruit, smoky nose, sweet oak a little dominant but overall a good glass at this level.’

£5.27 Atlantico UK

£5.92 Davy's Wine Merchants

£5.95 Fuller's

£4.50 Fuller's

£5.57 Boutinot

£6.00 Davy's Wine Merchants

£5.84 Tolchards

£5.22 Frederic Robinson

£5.85 Boutinot

£5.74 Boutinot

£5.67 Davy's Wine Merchants

£5.88 CyT UK

£5.40 CyT UK

£4.75 CellarVino

£4.94 Boutinot

£5.93 Boutinot

£5.09 Boutinot

£5.34 Boutinot

£5.50 Fuller's

£5.95 Fuller's

£3.77 Tolchards Ltd, Cheers Wine Merchants

£4.80 Boutinot

£4.79 Boutinot

£5.07 Boutinot

£5.08 Boutinot

£5.15 Lisbon Wines

‘Really charming aromas of candied fruits with good structure on the juicy, refreshing palate’ was enough to earn this Gold, according to Rémi Cousin of Le Gavroche. ‘A good house wine style,’ thought team leader Martin Lam, who described this as ‘the palest pink-salmon colour, with a pear drop nose and quite pure fruit aromatics’, while The Vine Eno Gastro Pub’s Tatiana Mann praised this as ‘elegant, with some good minerality’.

£5.69 Molson Coors

‘Great freshness,’ began team leader Andrea Briccarello, describing notes of ‘grapefruit, strawberries and cherries’, while The Harrow at Little Bedwyn’s Sue Jones thought this ‘shy on the nose, but rich on the palate’. Consultant Chantal Serrano summed it up as ‘subtle, refreshing and elegant’.

£4.94 Boutinot

For team leader Nigel Lister, this Pinot Grigio Rosé was ‘floral, light and fresh’, while consultant Chantal Serrano described ‘red berries and spice’ and suggested this was ‘paired with ceviche’. ‘Delicate red fruit, with a crisp, zesty finish,’ added Debbie Warner of Wild Wine Club, concluding that it was ‘good for the price’.

£5.09 Boutinot

‘A very good wine for summer,’ began The Don’s Carlos Ferreira, describing ‘strawberries and cherries on the nose, leading to a fruity palate with good acidity – and all at a good price, too’, while The Vine Eno Gastro Pub’s Tatiana Mann summarised it as ‘refreshing, pure and vibrant’.

£4.68 Tees

For team leader Martin Lam, this Rhône rosé had a ‘substantial, quite full palate with some redcurrant notes’, while The Vine Eno Gastro Pub’s Tatiana Mann liked its ‘dry style – chalky and refreshing – with a saltiness, too’.

£5.99 Boutinot

‘Lots of cherry and stone fruits,’ according to The Don’s Carlos Ferreira, who liked this wine’s ‘mineral notes, and good acidity’, resulting in what he thought would be ‘a good wine for a barbecue’. ‘Tropical fruit and strawberries, as well as some grassiness,’ added Glasshouse’s Arletta Mala.

£5.95 Matthew Clark

‘A good, commercial style’ thought Debbie Warner of Wild Wine Club, while team leader Nigel Lister described this as ‘gentle, aromatic and balanced’ with ‘soft red fruits and nice acidity’ contributing to what consultant Chantal Serrano thought would be a good match for fish and chips.

£5.94 Majestic Commercial

‘Strawberry notes, as well as some grassiness on the nose, too,’ began Tatiana Mann of The Vine Eno Gastro Pub, who enjoyed ‘creamy strawberry and herbal notes on the palate, with good length – a good choice for a pub wine list’.

£5.38 Boutinot

£4.95 Boutinot

£6.00 Davy's Wine Merchants

£5.71 The Oxford Wine Company

£5.40 CyT UK

£4.70 Edwards Beer & Wine Supplies

For Mikolaj Harmider of Adam’s Restaurant, this Gold-winning French white had ‘high acidity, with citrus, grapefruit and fresh apple notes, as well as some pineapple’, while Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte appreciated its ‘Sauvignon Blanc nose, with a touch of jalapeño pepper’. This all made it, according to WSET’s Mike Best, a good choice ‘by the glass, without food, but would also match superbly well with roast pork and fennel, with its herbal notes, and enough acidity to balance the fatty meat’.

£5.95 Grand Mayne

Taking Gold in no small part for its ‘bold and juicy fruit’, according to team leader Laura Rhys MS, this had ‘attractive herbaceous notes and good acidity’ for fellow team leader Annette Scarfe MW, who thought this was ‘technical, and a good food wine, too’. Matthieu Longuère MS of Le Cordon Bleu London added that this ‘floral and elegant’ wine was both ‘juicy and mineral’ on the palate, and ‘perfect for a goats’ cheese salad with pomegranate and a citrus dressing’.

£5.38 Distell Europe

Gabriel Liotta of Hakkasan Hanway Place was taken by this Gold winner’s ‘lovely, pronounced notes of peach and white flowers, with some richness on the palate, as well as ripe stone fruit, and a lime finish’. ‘A bright, citrus wine, with notes of grapefruit,’ added team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, before going on to describe ‘a lively and fresh mid-palate’, while Hakkasan Mayfair’s Jurijs Nemkovs enjoyed its ‘good acidity, with apple and lemon fruit’. This ‘Côtes-du-Rhône blanc’ style made team leader Martin Lam think it would accompany risotto well.

£5.69 Molson Coors

This Gold medal Sauvignon Blanc was ‘great for the price’, according to Sahar Gharai of La Dolce Vita Wine Lounge (California), who described a wine that was ‘well-balanced – floral and aromatic, with some good citrus notes’, while team leader Angela Reddin had good things to say about its ‘bright, fresh nose containing red apple and some citrus character’, going on to praise it for being ‘fresh and light in the mouth’.

£3.77 Tolchards Ltd

‘Well balanced between fruit and acidity, this is a well-structured wine, with a creamy finish,’ said team leader Annette Scarfe MW, while Erik Simonics of La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons thought that it was ‘fresh and fruity’, further describing it as ‘delicate, with some white floral notes’.

£5.58 Boutinot

‘Tinned peaches and a hint of spice’ defined the nose here for team leader Jade Koch, who thought the palate had ‘good acidity, finishing with a further hint of spice, and pear drops’. Aurel Istrate of The Connaught additionally found ‘honeycomb and white flowers’.

£5.95 Fuller's

Team leader Tom Forrest found ‘pear fruit aromas, with green apple flavours with some creaminess’, describing this as ‘quite rounded with a refreshing lemon finish’. Davide Dall’Amico of Royal Automobile Club, meanwhile, spoke of an ‘aromatic, clean and precise wine’.

£4.50 Fuller's

Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston found aromas of ‘hay and toasted walnuts’, going on to describe this as ‘pétillant on the palate, which gives it some vibrance’, while team leader Laura Rhys MS described it as having ‘juicy, fresh pear and apple fruit’.

£4.50 Fuller's

Team leader Tom Forrest enjoyed this wine’s ‘tutti frutti aromas, together with some creamy oak notes on the nose, leading to rounded and ripe apple and pear flavours’, while Eva Krenkova of Restaurant Sat Bains praised its ‘bright, ripe fruit, with pear and white blossom notes’.

£5.95 Milton Sandford Wines

This was packed with ‘floral and exotic fruit aromas’ thought Yohann Pinol of Wiltons, who proceeded to describe this as having ‘an elegant freshness’. ‘Complex, with good balance and a nutty finish,’ concluded Gabriele Galuppo of Theo Randall at the InterContinental.

£5.31 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘Pear, apple and beeswax on the nose, as well as some mineral notes,’ began Davide Dall’Amico of Royal Automobile Club, going on to describe a wine that was ‘balanced and quite complex, with crisp acidity and some decent length, too’.

£5.69 Boutinot

This opened with ‘ripe yellow fruit’, according to Jose Luis Hernandez of Hakkasan Hanway Place, who went on to find ‘melon and grapefruit on the palate, along with a touch of spice, and with some good length on the palate’.

£5.96 Boutinot

Team leader Tom Forrest described this wine as ‘rounded apple and blossoms on the nose and palate, with a little creaminess, and leading to an apple juice note on the finish’, concluding that this house wine candidate showed ‘nice balance and length’.

£5.40 CyT UK

Melody Wong of Ten Trinity Square Private Club liked the ‘gooseberry, unripe passion fruit, pineapple and gala melon’ notes in this Aussie Chardonnay, with Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston adding praise for ‘a persistent honey note, and vibrant minerality’.

£5.28 Majestic Commercial

‘Fresh fruit on the nose, with elegant balance on the palate, and good minerality,’ said Yohann Pinol of Wiltons, while Andrés Rangel of Sketch thought it had ‘floral and peach notes, as well as some citrus and green apple’.

£3.79 Broadland Wineries

‘Soft citrus notes, with light, floral aromatics, opening up into a tropical fruit bomb’ was how Michael Fiducia of Coworth Park Ascot described this wine, while team leader Angela Reddin liked its ‘hedgerow floral notes, with acacia and elderflower, and great length with peachy overtones’.

£5.09 Boutinot

A ‘vin de soif’, according to Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants, who went on to describe this as ‘zingy and fresh, with crunchy yellow fruit’. In addition, team leader Laurent Richet MS found ‘tangerine flavours, with a hint of herbaceousness, too’.

£4.99 Boutinot

‘Mouthwatering, with a pleasant fruit profile,’ said Adam Michocki of Glasshouse, who went on to describe ‘peaches, pears and yellow plums’ here, while team leader Laurent Richet MS found fresh notes of ‘nettle, green bean and pea pod’.

£5.30 Frederic Robinson

‘Sauvignon Blanc in style, this is easy drinking, as well as aromatic and balanced, with some citrus notes,’ said Erik Simonics of La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons, while Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn found ‘pyrazine notes, like green bell peppers’.

£5.04 Boutinot

Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm found ‘racy acidity with good weight and concentration – a good aperitif’. ‘A refreshing wine worthy of being on wine lists during a hot British summer – drink super-chilled!’ summarised Eva Krenkova of Restaurant Sat Bains.

£5.24 Boutinot

‘Creamy, floral and fresh,’ began Piers Gibson-Birch of Wernher Restaurant at Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa, who further described ‘citrus notes and good acidity’, which team leader Annette Scarfe MW described as ‘nice lemon fruit, and a fresh finish’.

£4.64 Boutinot

‘Ripe tropical fruits on the nose, leading to a pleasant palate,’ began Mikolaj Harmider of Adam’s Restaurant, while for Andrés Ituarte of Coq d’Argent, this had ‘a rounded mouthfeel, with orchard fruits and melon, and some minerality on the finish’.

£5.84 Majestic Commercial

For team leader Jade Koch, this was a ‘honeyed, rich and buttery Chardonnay, and a little bit toasty, too, leading to a good mineral, saline finish’, while The Connaught’s Aurel Istrate enjoyed ‘good citrus fruit, but vanilla at the same time, as well as some stone fruit’.

£5.11 Direct Wines Production

‘Lovely aromatics of quince and white flowers,’ began team leader Annette Scarfe MW, going on to praise this wine’s ‘good body and structure’. Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine found ‘citrus notes like grapefruit and lemon, with good aroma, minerality and good length, too’.

£5.18 Boutinot

£4.92 Boutinot

£5.08 Boutinot

£4.79 Boutinot

£5.07 Boutinot

£5.84 Tolchards

£4.50 Fuller's

£4.74 Majestic Commercial

£5.02 Majestic Commercial

£5.98 Boutinot

£5.76 Boutinot

£5.88 CyT UK

£4.94 Boutinot

£5.08 Boutinot

£4.45 Edwards Beer & Wine Supplies

£4.88 Molson Coors

£5.45 Fuller's

£4.50 Fuller's

£5.95 Fuller's

£5.09 CellarVino

£4.84 Boutinot

£4.75 East Street Wines

A Gold-worthy wine with a strong personality, as Valentin Radosav of Gymkhana found: ‘Delicate mango, pineapple, yellow plum and a creamy nose, with well-balanced acidity on a zesty palate showing tropical fruit and quince flavours with pear and woody beeswax notes and dried apricots on the finish.’ ‘A herbal attack with hints of basil, a textured mouthfeel and slightly spritz, too, with a warm finish,’ added team leader Annette Scarfe MW.

£12.88 Maluxfood & Wine Co

A real stylistic departure, with team leader Annette Scarfe MW finding ‘ripe quince and lemon peel, with lovely oily texture and hints of apricot, refreshing and well made’, while Matteo Furlan of The Ritz London noted ‘aromatic floral, grassy aromas, grapey and peachy with crisp acidity, light florals and a hint of residual sugar on the palate and good minerality’.

£10.70 Maluxfood & Wine Co

Consultant Charles Pashby-Taylor highlighted ‘floral peach and apricot on the nose, lovely ripe fruit on the palate with nectarine and hits of quince and chalky granite’, while The Ritz London’s Matteo Furlan appreciated its ‘elegant balance, grapey richness and good use of oak’.

£19.00 Thirty Nine 10

‘A beautiful display of where fruit and flavour meet terroir and winemaking,’ began consultant Charles Pashby-Taylor, pleased with its ‘balanced magnolia and white peach fruit, notes of white tea and chalky mineral on the finish, with hints of Burgundian oak’.

£21.44 Top Selection Ltd

‘Toasty and tropical, roasted nut nose with pronounced cedar notes,’ began Matteo Furlan of The Ritz London, finding ‘nice minerality on a waxy, slightly oxidised palate, yet fresh and complex with a good finish’.

£12.86 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£16.00 Thirty Nine 10

A complex and undoubtedly Gold-worthy style, this had ‘lychee on the nose, then a touch of residual sugar on the palate with Turkish Delight and orange blossom, a waxy texture and acidity on the finish’, according to an impressed James Fryer of Woodhead 17, while Geoffray Bénat of Cépage[s] Wine Bistro was taken with its ‘ripe apricot, peach and honey aromas, rounded lime and citrus with some sweet notes and thyme herb on the palate’.

£11.72 AZIENDA VINICOLA TALAMONTI SRL

This Gold winner separated itself from the crowd with ‘fruity green apple on the nose, showing good fruit character, texture and freshness’, began Street XO’s Raphael Thierry, with team leader Laurent Richet MS picking up a ‘slightly oxidative approach, but also exotic fruit flavours, and peach and apricot, with a saline note of complexity’. ‘Generous tropical fruits and a zestiness’ on the palate sealed the deal for team leader Andrea Briccarello.

£10.22 Liberty Wines

Linh Ziolkowska of Yauatcha City found this wine ‘restrained on the nose, with notes of apple cider and citrus, honeyed and peachy on the palate’, while team leader Martin Lam noted ‘white flowers on a dry honeyed nose, balanced and rounded ripe fruit on the palate with balancing acidity’.

£8.85 Jascots Wine Merchants

‘Peach and citrus, good acidity in a fresh, elegant, minerally style with a long finish,’ said Frédéric Billet of Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa, while team leader Jade Koch found ‘Italian sun in a honeyed, oily and warm style that would be great by the glass’.

£7.56 Milton Sandford Wines

Street XO’s Raphael Thierry highlighted ‘almond and apple on the nose, with a citrusy palate that shows enough vibrancy and texture to match with delicate-flavoured foods’, while for Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles there was ‘a slight sweetness on the palate, tropical fruit, peach and almond notes with good minerality’.

£14.54 Delitalia

‘Intense palate of lime and exotic fruits, peach and gooseberry, slightly oxidative in style but balanced by a pleasant minerality,’ said Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles. ‘Vibrant, with good purity of lemon-lime fruit and a touch of grass,’ added Street XO’s Raphael Thierry.

£9.37 Berkmann Wine Cellars

A ‘food-friendly style, with herbaceous asparagus notes on the nose’, said Frédéric Billet of Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa of this 100% Grechetto white, highlighting its ‘great acidity with citrus, mineral and floral notes’, while Vinoteca’s Charlie Young enjoyed its ‘savoury and herbal aromas, citrus punch and good texture with almond notes on the finish’.

£9.95 Cantina Goccia

‘White peach and white florals bordering on pineapple in the mid-palate, with bitter herbal notes and some oiliness, with rose petal hints on the finish,’ said Woodhead 17’s James Fryer, with Geoffray Bénat of Cépage[s] Wine Bistro picking up ‘aromatic white flowers, good balance with fresh peach and apricot’.

£10.20 VinumTerra

Vinoteca’s Charlie Young liked this wine for its ‘citrus, spicy and stony aromas, followed by white peach and pear fruit with good weight on the palate, elegantly carried by citrus acidity’, while Frédéric Billet of Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa noted ‘hints of petrol on a herbaceous nose, and a mineral and citrus palate’.

£13.59 Liberty Wines

£14.05 Eurowines

£20.30 Eurowines

£22.50 Delitalia

£8.70 Milton Sandford Wines

£7.80 Eurowines

£11.15 Eurowines

£7.26 VinumTerra

£5.66 Boutinot

£7.61 Boutinot

£11.00 Boutinot

£12.50 GIV UK

£16.10 Liberty Wines

£11.60 Liberty Wines

£9.89 Alivini

£10.30 Lea & Sandeman

A second Umbrian Gold in this category, and Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS felt its ‘leafy capsicum, slightly stalky but dark, ripe, plummy fruit and spices on the nose’ led to an ‘elegant delivery with complex mid-palate and a wide range of fruit tones and spice notes on a balanced and classy palate, and earthy on the finish’. ‘Very aromatic and good mineral, fresh aromas, with nice red fruits and juicy character, and balanced tannins and acid,’ agreed Christoph Hons of Park Chinois.

£31.90 Eurowines

Manuel Ribeiro of The Bybrook at The Manor House Hotel was enchanted by this Gold Lister’s ‘very complex nose with berry and tobacco aromas, spicy chocolate and toasty notes’, and thought it had ‘a balanced palate and smooth tannin, for drinking now’. Team leader Lionel Periner agreed, noting ‘elegant, complex, floral cooked berry aromas with a hint of smoke, complex and full-bodied on the palate with oak well balanced and floral hints on a long finish’.

£16.50 Cantina Goccia

Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse was among this Gold Lister’s many admirers, enjoying its ‘great depth and subtlety’ and considering it ‘good for grilled foods and may I say barbecue as well’, while Kai Mayfair’s Elisa Soggia was a fan of its ‘woody, cedar aromas, cinnamon and black plum, tobacco and jam with good, balanced tannins and body’. ‘Smoke, black olive, crushed stone fruits with a nice balance of benign savoury bitter notes, semi-dried dark berries and mocha,’ added team leader Angela Reddin.

£11.50 Eurowines

‘Very rustic style with traditional winemaking,’ began team leader Annette Scarfe MW, who liked its ‘lovely core of fruit supported with dark butter, chocolate and spice notes’, while Matteo Furlan of The Ritz London found it ‘deep,dark and intense, with rich black fruit and liquorice, hints of dried herbs, gamey and tannic and spicy’. Double-decanting is advised, or more time in the cellar.

£51.50 Delitalia

Full of ‘fresh plum with gentle, fresh tea leaves, ripe cassis with pepper and tobacco leaf notes’, said Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club, while Royal Automobile Club’s Davide Dall’Amico found it ‘more spicy than fruity, with notes of red fruit, coconut, vanilla, chocolate and liquorice’.

£7.83 AZIENDA VINICOLA TALAMONTI SRL

There were ‘fresh, dark cherries and blackberries on the nose’, began Gymkhana’s Valentin Radosav, followed by ‘juicy round tannins on a ripe, fruit-focused palate with fresh acidity’. Matteo Furlan of The Ritz London picked up ‘cranberry, black and blue berries, jammy ripeness and a lot of red fruit’, and found it ‘dusty and gamey, smoky and meaty on the palate’.

£21.99 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Fresh, pure, elegant nose, young but lovely balance here,’ began Tate Catering’s Hamish Anderson, who found it ‘classically structured, with spice, clove and plum on the palate, gravelly and complex on the finish’. ‘Great price for a very well-balanced wine with rich depth, clean nose and addictive taste,’ added Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse.

£16.51 Berkmann Wine Cellars

A nose of ‘savoury plums, meat juices, dark berries, spices and tar’ stood out for Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS, with ‘complexity and good depth, a fresh mid-palate and long finish with the emphasis on the savouriness’.

£11.50 Cantina Goccia

‘With sunshine richness of fruit and structured tannin, you could almost think it was Australian,’ began consultant Charles Pashby-Taylor, with team leader Annette Scarfe MW noting ‘good varietal typicity after a little air, with sweet, ripe cherry fruit flavours’.

£12.00 Cantina Goccia

This had a ‘big, plush’ nose, said team leader Simon Woods, who liked its ‘ripe, raisiny notes, berry and fig with a warm, juicy palate, spice hints and nice texture that’s fleshy and balanced’.

£9.87 Alivini

Team leader Annette Scarfe MW enjoyed this wine’s ‘lovely expression, with delicate red fruit and notes of liquorice and dark chocolate, followed by hints of bitter cherry with well-integrated oak’.

£28.90 Eurowines

Christoph Hons of Park Chinois found ‘very fragrant, sweet red fruits, ripe and full on the nose, followed by a meaty, bold character on the palate, fresh and crisp, lively and good value’, while Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS liked its ‘berries and cherries, savouriness and chargrilled notes, fruit-forward style with spices notes, good weight and balanced delivery’.

£9.85 Eurowines

Matteo Furlan of The Ritz London found a ‘floral nose with black and red fruit on a good palate, with decent complexity’, while for team leader Annette Scarfe MW there was a ‘clean and fresh nose of redcurrants with a hint of spice, soft smooth tannins and a fresh finish’.

£10.50 Eurowines

Team leader Angela Reddin liked the ‘soft, juicy nose of plum and vanilla, light tannin and medium-low acidity’, making it a ‘fruit-forward and appealing style’ of wine, while Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse commented: ‘Rich chocolate, deep afternoon delight, love it!’

£7.46 VinumTerra

Royal Automobile Club’s Davide Dall’Amico liked this wine’s ‘red cherry, blackberry and black plum aromas, slight spicy notes of vanilla and liquorice in a simple, nice and juicy style’. Meanwhile Four Degree’s Jonathan Kleeman felt it was ‘clean and precise with a fresh finish, an easy-drinker to be enjoyed with friends’.

£6.61 Liberty Wines

£27.35 Eurowines

£15.58 Cantina Orsogna

£10.35 Cantina Orsogna

£9.77 Cantina Orsogna

£8.94 Milton Sandford Wines

£15.16 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£11.67 Winetraders

£15.00 Boutinot

£13.49 Liberty Wines

Turning judges’ heads and simultaneously taking home the Gold, this Gran Selezione drew praise from Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia for its ‘concentrated, dried dark fruits, sandalwood spice and cherry blossom notes, and a grippy but quite giving palate’. ‘Warm floral notes of violet, with a palate of plum and some peppery spice,’ added team leader Tom Forrest. ‘Rich, elegant and balanced, with good dark fruit,’ concluded Rémi Cousin of Le Gavroche.

£27.28 Boutinot

‘Bold, with red fruit on the nose, purple floral and herbaceous notes, elegant tannins and lovely freshness,’ praised team leader Laura Rhys MS as this Chianti Classico Riserva effortlessly took the Gold, with Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason finding it ‘earthy and slightly rustic, with notes of chocolate, smoke and juicy fruit’. ‘Violet and velvety,’ thought The Connaught’s Aurel Istrate, with added complexity from ‘tomato leaves, smoky tobacco and coffee’.

£15.10 Eurowines

Clearly a Gold List wine, this combined ‘floral notes of violets and rose petals with hazelnut on the nose, a soft palate of ripe cherries, pepper and vanilla’, according to team leader Tom Forrest, with Typing Room’s Alex Pitt picking up ‘nice cherry fruit with some slightly cured meat characters, but well-balanced acidity and structure on the palate’. For consultant Chantal Serrano it showed ‘good development, with dried fruit, cocoa and mint, all with good balance’.

£26.24 Matthew Clark

Pierre Brunelli of L’Enclume was impressed with this Gold winner’s ‘classic nose of floral notes, meaty hints and spices with figs, very fresh tannins and good concentration on the palate’, while for team leader Laura Rhys MS there was ‘dark, bitter cherry, plum and cherry stone aromas, black stone minerality and good oak integration on the palate but bold tannins’. Its ‘dark fruit, cedar, dried mushroom and roasted notes’ made this, according to team leader Laurent Richet MS, ideal for a barbecued rib of beef.

£8.98 Boutinot

Alex Pitt of Typing Room loved this Gold Lister’s ‘inviting aromas of vine tomatoes and wild strawberry’, followed by a ‘silky and elegant palate with nice balance of fruit and savoury notes’, and The Don’s Carlos Ferreira noted ‘tobacco leaves and black olives with black cherry fruit, great balance and level of tannin, and spicy black fruits on the finish’. ‘Voluptuous and complex, with dark spices and round tannins,’ concluded team leader Andrea Briccarello.

£12.70 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

Team leader Laura Rhys MS was drawn to this exceptional Gold winner’s ‘bold and juicy dark fruits on the nose, spice and weight on the palate’, finding it a ‘modern style with prominent but well-integrated oak’. ‘Beautifully balanced, with lovely volume in the mouth, with some black fruit compote and a spicy finish,’ added Nelio Pinto of Candlesticks, while Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club found further complex notes of ‘olive, tobacco leaf and leather’.

£17.00 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

On encountering this Gold winner, Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia was lured in by an ‘enticing nose of dark berry compote and toffee apple, leading to an opulent and silky-smooth palate’, while The Don’s Carlos Ferreira highlighted ‘dried cherry and plum with liquorice and tomato leaf on the nose, textured, spicy black fruit on the palate with a finish that’s really fresh and very well balanced’. ‘Rich, luscious and beautiful,’ was how The Harrow at Little Bedwyn’s Sue Jones summed it up.

£33.15 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

Pierre Brunelli of L’Enclume enjoyed this wine’s ‘cured meat spicy notes, lavender floral elements and intense, very well-balanced palate’, and Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason felt its ‘ripe, sun-dried tomato fruit, good silky body, smooth tannins and well-rounded depth make it very food-friendly, ideal with a beef ragu’.

£12.04 Boutinot

Definitely a food wine, stressed Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia, noting its ‘subtle aromas of berry pudding with nuances of herbs and spices, and a soft but structured palate’, backed up by Typing Room’s Alex Pitt, who found ‘touches of mintiness and herbs on the nose, showing more fruit on the palate, quite earthy and mineral, too’.

£21.50 Eurowines

This was a ‘lighter, restrained style’, said team leader Laura Rhys MS, who was keen on its ‘bright red fruit, redcurrant and cherry with some weight on the palate and notes of spice’, while Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason picked up notes of ‘tomato leaf, sour cherry and some body and depth’.

£7.00 Matthew Clark

For Typing Room’s Alex Pitt, this was all about ‘framboise and Morello cherry, lovely balance between acidity and tannin, and a silky fruit character’, while team leader Tom Forrest enjoyed its ‘lifted violet and leafy aromas’ and its ‘juicy cherry fruits with a slightly sour note washing the tannins away’.

£11.00 Howard Ripley

‘Really concentrated,’ began Pierre Brunelli of L’Enclume, who liked its ‘ripe blackberry and dark chocolate character with good structure to balance and a big hit of oak’, with Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason thinking it was ‘deep, dark, huge and rustic, young but has potential’.

£18.87 Bibendum

With L’Enclume’s Pierre Brunelli highlighting this wine’s ‘spiced meat aromas, dried flowers and good structure’, team leader Laura Rhys MS found ‘juicy cherry, elegant spice with good weight and complexity on the palate, giving good value all-round’.

£7.98 Boutinot

‘Slightly smoky with earthy aromas too,’ began Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, noting ‘dark and red fruit, ripe tannins on a deep, fairly complex palate’, concluding that it was ‘good value for money’.

£7.95 Eurowines

£8.98 Boutinot

£16.09 Matthew Clark

£15.22 Matthew Clark

£6.25 Majestic Commercial

£22.50 Eurowines

£6.58 Boutinot

£12.17 Maisons Marques et Domaines

A Gold to go with Cesari’s pair of Silver medals, and a couple Bronzes too, this was a ‘ripe and succulent’ style, said team leader Sam Caporn MW, who thought it was showing ‘lots of black and Morello cherry fruit, with a little residual sugar but a long and herbal finish’, while Fenwick’s James Franklin also noted ‘soft tannins, violets and herbal elements’. ‘Wild cherries with a lovely crunchiness to them,’ added Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants, also describing ‘minerality, and a long, spiced finish’.

£7.75 Fuller's

As this took its rightful place on the Gold List, team leader Tom Forrest picked up notes of ‘tobacco and clove spice, oak, cacao and dark cherry on the palate’, with a ‘creamy texture and a nice bite to the finish’, while Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte appreciated its ‘good purity of fruit, with plum skin and redcurrants joined by some toasty spices and some moderate tannins and very good acidity’.

£9.95 Eurowines

An indisputable and inevitable Gold, Aurel Istrate of The Connaught found plenty to enjoy here, with ‘smokiness, dark and red fruit and a rustic edge on the nose, with very well-integrated oak, peppercorn spice and figs, and with a nice, long finish too’. ‘Very concentrated,’ said The Pig Hotel’s Jacopo Mazzeo, finding ‘sour cherry, kirsch and liquorice notes, coffee and cedar aromas, tobacco and cigar box, mint and eucalyptus’, and ultimately describing the palate as ‘big, with fine tannins’.

£66.45 Eurowines

Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia was drawn to this worthy Gold medallist’s ‘perfumed aromas of Morello cherry and bramble fruit, with dark chocolate dusting and crunchy fruit on the palate’, while James Franklin of Fenwick was equally impressed by a ‘seductive nose of jammy, ripe fruits, a soft, velvety and warming palate with great tannin and a long, savoury finish’. Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants, meanwhile, found ‘lapsang tea and sweet, baked red and black fruit aromas, with good complexity and length – like a light Amarone style’.

£15.60 Eurowines

Our judges were seriously impressed, sending this straight to the Gold podium. Team leader Martin Lam described a ‘savoury then cassis nose, excellent, complex tarry fruit and ripe, savoury palate character with balanced acidity’, and The Pig Hotel’s Jacopo Mazzeo admired its ‘bready, pencil shaving aromas, dried strawberry and sour cherry, long palate with great ageing potential and careful use of oak’, while Nelio Pinto of Candlesticks appreciated its ‘coffee, ginger, laurel and black pepper notes, with an iron finish’.

£41.30 Liberty Wines

The Amarone Golds kept on coming, with this one having a ‘velvety, violet nose’ that led to ‘dark fruits, very well-integrated oak and an elegant finish’, according to The Connaught’s Aurel Istrate, with The Pig Hotel’s Jacopo Mazzeo highlighting ‘firm tannins on a crisp palate of cranberry, raspberry and red cherry fruit, concentrated and balanced, finishing long’. ‘Morello cherry and liquorice, with some raisin and leather notes too’ had Nelio Pinto of Candlesticks thinking about rabbit stew.

£29.10 Bibendum

A ‘complex, intense nose follows through on the palate’, began team leader Martin Lam, who found this substantial Gold medal wine to be ‘quite broad on the palate and very food-friendly’. The Pig Hotel’s Jacopo Mazzeo highlighted ‘a fresh, savoury nose, dried fruits, plum and prune with notes of cocoa on the finish’, which, according to team leader Laurent Richet MS, made it an ideal accompaniment for ‘deer with chocolate sauce and roasted root vegetables’.

£24.05 Mondial Wine

Team leader Tom Forrest noted ‘ripe aromas, if a little on the lighter side, with cherries and cedar spice notes, then some alternative leafy notes of cherry and berry on the palate with a drying finish’, while Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte found some ‘coal and iodine notes that match the fruit intensity’.

£23.69 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Bright, herbaceous nose, grippy strawberry jam and wild strawberry palate with caramel notes,’ said Euan McColm of Beaverbrook, while team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW described ‘aniseed and cedar aromatics, salty red fruit on a fine, complex palate that develops in the mouth’.

£36.70 Top Selection Ltd

Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia enjoyed its ‘ripe fruit characteristics of plum pudding and mocha, with an uncomplicated, approachable palate’, while team leader Sam Caporn MW picked up flavours of ‘mulberry and bramble with soft blueberry and red cherry’.

£13.67 Eurowines

A ‘popular, succulent style’, said team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, who found it ‘bursting with juice, roasted bacon oak, mid-weight and fleshy’, with Woodhead 17’s James Fryer highlighting ‘juniper and black pepper, herbal aromas, juicy black fruit and serious tannin’. ‘Red paprika power, fresh acids and notes of coffee, but light,’ added Gauthier Soho’s Rita Kardos.

£19.45 Boutinot

‘Flowers and fruits, plump and fleshy, bursting with character,’ began team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, while for Woodhead 17’s James Fryer the ‘palate screams of fresh ground coffee and cassis, some medicinal notes mid-palate, finishing with juicy black fruit and black pepper with a long mochaccino finish’.

£45.96 Berkmann Wine Cellars

This was described as ‘an aristocratic wine’ by Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, who picked up ‘chocolatey raisins and Genoa cake aromas, silky, smooth and round with wonderful balance, elegance and complexity, luscious’, while Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn loved its ‘satanic fruit’ and found it to be ‘dark and broody, powerful on the palate with smooth tannins’, making it a ‘fantastic wine’.

£29.75 Eurowines

A good all-rounder, showing ‘lots of red fruits, smoke and vanilla on the nose’, said Christoph Hons of Park Chinois, also noting that it was ‘smooth and pleasant, with strawberry and raspberry fruit on the palate and a soft ending’.

£10.24 Liberty Wines

‘Ripe red and black cherry fruits, some oak cinnamon spice, soft and creamy texture with more cherry and some heavier, dark notes that wash away on the finish,’ said team leader Tom Forrest. ‘Superb fruit, simple but elegant,’ concluded Rémi Cousin of Le Gavroche.

£13.00 Top Selection Ltd

‘Fresh, curranty nose, vanilla and sweet with violets and a long, grippy finish,’ began Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm, with James Fryer of Woodhead 17 finding it ‘raisined but flashy, with some bright acidity, fruit and tannins, and a slightly spirit quality’.

£29.50 Enotria&Coe

Team leader Lionel Periner found ‘light intensity, nice red fruit, hints of florals, bell pepper and oak well balanced on the nose, medium-bodied on the palate with some drying tannin but well balanced, finishing long with a hint of spice’, while Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn noted ‘bags of red fruits with apple and some complexity, nutty and earthy’.

£17.90 Enotria&Coe

Rémi Cousin of Le Gavroche enjoyed its ‘lovely nose of fruit and minty hints, soft and round palate that’s deep and juicy’, while Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte found a ‘lighter body with confected sour cherry and tomato, and a long finish of raisin skin’.

£10.96 Enotria&Coe

‘Savoury and meaty with spicy notes of clove and black pepper, for a good entry-level style,’ said The Pig Hotel’s Jacopo Mazzeo, while The Connaught’s Aurel Istrate enjoyed its ‘elegantly jammy nose, sour cherry and tomato leaves on the palate and elegant tannins’.

£24.93 Maisons Marques et Domaines

‘Quite intriguing aromas with lots of floral oak and spice,’ began team leader Sam Caporn MW, finding a palate of ‘red fruits, rose petals, fennel and red plums, balanced and interesting, elegant and long with great use of oak’.

£17.30 Mondial Wine

‘Exceptional value for an easy-drinking summer red, and perfect chilled’, began Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, finding this wine ‘subtle, delicate, fresh and fruity on the nose, with bright red cherry and soft, smooth tannins’.

£5.50 Fuller's

A ‘fresh, leafy, easy and pleasant classic’, began Rémi Cousin of Le Gavroche, with Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte finding ‘light cocoa, butter and spice notes with a solid red fruit character – good, simple and fresh’.

£7.30 Fuller's

This was a ‘crowd-pleaser with lots of bright fruit, a hint of oak and a touch of sweetness on the finish’, said Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine, with team leader Lionel Periner also noting ‘cooked red fruits, hints of chocolate on toasted bread, medium weight with fruit and a hint of smoke on the finish’.

£9.24 Matthew Clark

‘Vibrant, with bright oak influence, yet still balanced,’ began Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte, highlighting its ‘freshness, red fruits and mint’, while Antóin UáRuairc of UK Midland Sommelier Ltd liked its ‘zingy flavour, low tannin and very fruity’ style.

£15.58 Liberty Wines

Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm found it ‘round and easy, fat and elegant’, with its ‘sweet woody spice, caramel and vanilla nose with continental breakfast prunes on the palate’. ‘Juicy cooked fruit, bramble jam with an edge of freshness – serve with ice cream!’ added team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW.

£25.24 Enotria&Coe

A pleasing package for Fenwick’s James Franklin, who found ‘mature fruits, smoke and depth on the nose, beautiful cherry, herbal and floral characters with grippy, full tannins and a long finish’.

£14.24 Bibendum

£20.25 Eurowines

£16.59 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£34.48 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£32.85 Eurowines

£14.60 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£15.15 Boutinot

£29.05 Eurowines

£10.85 Boutinot

£12.91 Enotria&Coe

£11.06 Enotria&Coe

Elisa Soggia of Kai Mayfair was taken with this wine’s ‘intense structure, full body and high tannin, balanced by lots of black plum and black cherry, cinnamon spice notes with tobacco and earthy hints, chocolate and leather with peppery spice’, while Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants felt it was ‘built to last, still young but definitely approachable now, with concentration and minty freshness, succulent black fruit and graphite, firm yet very balanced’.

£32.38 Cantina Bolzano

Simone Fadda of Roka Aldwych liked the ‘vibrant bouquet of black and red fruits, blackcurrant and cherry, then a silky mouthfeel with firm tannins’, while Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant felt it was ‘good to go with venison or beef, with its dark fruit, nice liquorice notes in the background and long finish’.

£27.22 Cantina Bolzano

A wine of ‘lovely structure’, said Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant, finding it ‘quite peppery on the nose with a smooth, pungent, spicy background’, while Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS noted ‘savoury, crushed red fruit and stone fruit aromas with spicy meat and tarry oak notes’.

£9.00 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Simone Fadda of Roka Aldwych enjoyed this wine’s ‘red and black fruits on the nose with herbal hints, then black berries and sweet liquorice hints on the palate’, while for team leader Andrea Briccarello it was ‘clean, juicy, soft and round, easy-drinking and a good by-the-glass option’.

£7.20 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Full-bodied and packed with flavours, revealing ‘blackberry, blackcurrant, black cherry, plums, violets’ on the nose, said Cristian Sánchez of Hotel du Vin Cambridge, as well as ‘clove spice and anise, leather and graphite, hints of vanilla, ripe tannins and a long, pleasant finish’. ‘A wine to enjoy with game or pâté,’ added team leader Laurent Richet MS.

£18.06 Berkmann Wine Cellars

For Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant this was ‘very floral on the nose, quite toasty on the palate but with nice freshness to match with food’, and he thought it ‘would be lovely with cheese’. Meanwhile Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS found ‘spicy, savoury notes and chocolate aromas, but a savoury palate’.

£13.00 Jascots Wine Merchants

‘Great, deep and concentrated, but not in a too-much kind of way,’ began team leader Laurent Richet MS, who found it ‘balanced, well crafted, with dark fruit and meaty notes, delicate tannin, great for food with rich sauces’, while Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants noted ‘distinctive pine needle and rosemary, fleshy style, fresh and charmingly fruit-forward, but with balance and nerve’.

£20.13 Bibendum

Cristian Sánchez of Hotel du Vin Cambridge enjoyed this wine’s ‘sweet black cherries, black plum, blackberry jelly and liquorice notes on the nose, clove and vanilla spice hints, good ripe tannins and high concentration of flavours, with lovely acidity and a long, sweet finish’.

£9.00 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘An approachable style,’ began Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant, who found it ‘delicate and floral on the nose, slightly less so on the palate – a wine for a feast’. ‘Plenty of blueberries and cherry notes, and a good smoky back-palate,’ added team leader Andrea Briccarello.

£7.95 Berkmann Wine Cellars

While Elisa Soggia of Kai Mayfair highlighted ‘pronounced cherries and plum on this wine’, team leader Laurent Richet MS felt it would be ‘a lovely wine to showcase by the glass, with gentle aromas of spice and fruit – red, black and cherry – and hints of black pepper and sandalwood’.

£11.38 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Light, crunchy and fragrant, the fruit is red and wild with a tendency to freshness rather than ripeness, but complexity and a charred aftertaste,’ began Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurant, with team leader Laurent Richet MS adding that it was ‘a dangerous wine, as you’d go for a second bottle!’

£8.75 Boutinot

£9.00 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£7.49 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£14.44 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£18.12 Liberty Wines

£26.70 Bibendum

‘A delicate, rose petal nose with very pretty, plump fruit, some gentle peach and spiced pear,’ was team leader Nigel Lister’s appraisal as this took its rightful spot on the Gold List, while Woodhead 17’s James Fryer spoke of ‘plush white florals, like magnolia, with good weight on the palate, and intense rose water and talcum notes’. ‘Nice freshness and aromatics, with some lychee and spice,’ concluded team leader Sam Caporn MW.

£20.46 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

A broad combination of flavour influences helped elevate this to Gold, with team leader Annette Scarfe MW highlighting ‘ripe stone fruit with an oily texture, orange peel and lemon zest on a creamy mid-palate, notes of rose petals and spices’, and Gymkhana’s Valentin Radosav enjoying ‘stone fruit and yellow flowers, complex and intense in the mid-palate but with well-balanced acidity and a long finish, bringing in tropical fruit, flowers and nutmeg’.

£19.47 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

While finding it ‘bashful and restrained on the nose’, Portland Restaurant’s Carolina Seibel was charmed by this Gold medallist’s ‘oily and biscuity, refreshing nose, with lime and yellow plum fruit dominating the palate, and showing some light, nutty oxidation on the finish’. ‘Apricot flesh aromas and some good ripeness on the finish’ were described by Woodhead 17’s James Fryer, while team leader Sam Caporn MW was taken by its ‘restrained and well-handled use of oak’, ultimately concluding that it was ‘elegant and delicious’.

£26.20 Bibendum

Highlighting its ‘smoky oak and fruit on the nose, citrus and apple with apricot and honey notes’, Manuel Ribeiro of The Bybrook at The Manor House Hotel also found ‘white pepper and buttered toast richness on the palate cut by good acidity, with a toasty, smoky but balanced finish’.

£21.05 Eurowines

Team leader Nigel Lister approved of this wine’s ‘bright rose, lychee, classic Turkish Delight aromas, rich and ripe palate with good balance of fruit, Asian spices and a pleasant almond kernel finish’.

£18.82 Cantina Bolzano

‘Floral, grassy, straightforward primary fruits on the nose, with hints of herbs and flowers,’ began Matteo Furlan of The Ritz London, finding a ‘decent palate, mineral and fresh, crisp and round, with more floral notes on the finish’, while team leader Annette Scarfe MW noted ‘lovely ripe lemons on the palate and a waxy texture’.

£7.15 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘Tasty,’ began team leader Sam Caporn MW, further describing a wine that was ‘ripe and fresh, with lots of Conference pears and zingy, sherbet notes’, before concluding that this was ‘flavourful and balanced’. James Fryer of Woodhead 17, meanwhile, appreciated its ‘good texture on the palate, with tinned pineapple and green herb notes’.

£7.75 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Simple pleasures here for team leader Nigel Lister, who enjoyed its ‘waxy, soft yellow peach nose with a touch of spice, ripe and succulent flavours on a well-balanced, fresh palate’, and thought it was ‘a good food wine and great value’. Fellow team leader Andrea Briccarello highlighted its ‘crisp, citrusy style with nice salty notes, to go with oysters and lemon’.

£7.81 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘Rich, golden and ripe,’ began Portland Restaurant’s Carolina Seibel, who liked its ‘very dry palate’ and ‘hints of pithy bitterness’, and thought it was ‘mineral with good structure’, while for team leader Nigel Lister there were ‘distant honey notes, peach and pear in a very fresh, lively style’.

£21.95 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Refreshing and clean, with ‘fruity and fresh pear aromas, good structure in the mouth with pear skin, lime juice and zest notes’, said Carolina Seibel of Portland Restaurant, with team leader Nigel Lister adding ‘apple and pear fruit, zesty and sherbety, good value and well balanced’.

£6.95 Boutinot

‘Floral aromas, peaches and lychee with fresh, crisp acidity balancing the fruit in this oaked style of an aromatic grape,’ said Gymkhana’s Valentin Radosav, while team leader Annette Scarfe MW found it a ‘lovely, inviting expression with fresh herbal and delicate pine needle notes’.

£22.05 Cantina Bolzano

Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS picked up aromas of ‘tangerine and clementine, candied fruit with a touch of richness’, followed by ‘candied lemon with nice vibrancy on the palate, good definition with balanced mid-palate and a fruity sweetness on the finish’. ‘Grassy, earthy and crisp, with good fruit,’ added Christoph Hons of Park Chinois.

£12.40 Mondial Wine

Team leader Annette Scarfe MW found ‘vibrant flavours and a full, aromatic mid-palate, with white flower notes’, while freelance sommelier Julio Iglesias described it as ‘high intensity, with sweet fruit and floral notes, as well as a honeyed element’.

£24.35 Eurowines

‘Grapey flower aromas with fruit peel and marshmallow notes,’ began Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS, finding ‘a vibrant palate with great flavours and balance’, while Manuel Ribeiro of The Bybrook at The Manor House Hotel liked its ‘fruit and spice on the nose with a savoury palate and toast and honey finish’.

£17.38 Enotria&Coe

Gymkhana’s Valentin Radosav liked this wine’s ‘fresh style, with flower and nutty aromas, yellow plum with well balanced acidity’, while team leader Annette Scarfe MW picked up ‘ripe grapefruit and lemon, lovely texture rounded with ripe stone fruit notes’.

£11.92 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£21.05 Eurowines

£22.25 Eurowines

£8.33 Eurowines

£9.00 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£14.43 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£7.70 Boutinot

£13.93 Bibendum

£15.11 Bibendum

Elevated to Gold amidst praise from our judges, this Soave had ‘stone fruit and fresh tobacco leaf aromas with rich lees notes on the nose’, began Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club, ‘with a herbal, balsamic character too, and elegant on the finish’. Four Degree’s Jonathan Kleeman liked its ‘rich, rounded and luscious style, oak flavours coming through but not dominating, and fruit that’s ripe but still fresh and zippy’.

£19.04 Liberty Wines

Characterful flavours here, with Jonathan Kleeman of Four Degree enjoying its ‘spicy, aromatic nose and tones of mallow and bergamot in the mouth, fresh spring flowers on a clean finish’. ‘Great fruit, seltzer edges and good fresh fruit,’ added team leader Simon Woods.

£13.80 Bibendum

Team leader Simon Woods was happy with the ‘generous, peachy fruit combined with crisper herby and stony notes’, finding it ‘long, elegant and ageworthy’, and Four Degree’s Jonathan Kleeman liked its ‘intense, direct style with lots of citrus and underripe fruit’.

£13.72 Boutinot

This less-than-typical style showed ‘intense, punchy mineral notes and almost Riesling-like pungency’, according to team leader Simon Woods, who found it ‘good and grippy, but with a soft lychee finish’. Davide Dall’Amico of Royal Automobile Club felt the ‘fruit has slightly oxidative notes, with herbal flavours and a long finish’.

£14.14 Enotria&Coe

Tate Catering’s Hamish Anderson enjoyed this wine’s ‘pretty, floral, aromatic nose, leading to a textural, characterful palate showing almonds, citrus and lemon, with a creamy texture cut by nice hints of acid’, and rated it ‘very good’. ‘Lemon zest and citrus peel, nice tangy palate, refreshing and moreish,’ added team leader Angela Reddin.

£8.99 Enotria&Coe

Team leader Angela Reddin found a ‘nutty nose with lifted lemon sherbet and curd aromas, very bright and clean on the palate’, while Tate Catering’s Hamish Anderson felt its ‘simple, neutral nose and creamy texture with pears, spice and good weight are attractive and food-oriented, good for roast chicken’.

£13.89 Bibendum

‘Intense, with notes of pine and lovely herbal freshness, grip and finesse on the palate,’ began team leader Simon Woods, picking up ‘slightly salty notes on a long, intriguing finish’, while Royal Automobile Club’s Davide Dall’Amico found ‘camomile and elderflower aromas, some peach and citrus coming through with a slight note of bitterness on the palate’.

£10.71 Top Selection Ltd

A ‘deep, pungent and punchy’ style for team leader Simon Woods, who enjoyed its ‘good intense, heady and vibrant character, juicy and young, with a slight leesy richness, but fascinating’. ‘Peachy, biscuity and toasty,’ added Royal Automobile Club’s Davide Dall’Amico.

£14.59 Liberty Wines

This was ‘precise and complex for an entry-level style’, said Royal Automobile Club’s Davide Dall’Amico, who liked its ‘tree fruit, peach and camomile white flower notes, nice mineral elements, quite long flavour and almond notes coming through on the finish’.

£7.81 Jascots Wine Merchants

Elisa Soggia of Kai Mayfair found ‘green apple, and a light and fresh character with a lemony hint’, with Hakkasan Hanway Place’s Gabriel Liotta thinking it ‘ripe and aromatic, with stone fruit notes’, while Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn described it as ‘fresh and vibrant’ and, crucially, ‘value for money’.

£5.40 Forth Wines, Moreno Wines

£13.61 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£13.72 Boutinot

£8.80 Liberty Wines

£11.07 Bibendum

A ‘great value and good all-rounder’, according to Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, this took its place on the Gold List, offering ‘ripe red cherry notes, with some floral perfume and a raisin note too’. He went on to describe ‘good, ripe tannins and a light, fresh body, with clean acidity’, while Mario Tomekovic of Smiths of Smithfield highlighted ‘cherry and ripe plums, as well as blackberry, on a rich and complex palate with a long aftertaste’.

£10.03 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

As this was elevated to Gold, Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin was taken by its ‘very bright aromas of spiced cherries and plummy fruit’, followed by ‘sour cherries on a bitter-sweet palate with good typicity and balanced ripeness’. Elisa Soggia of Kai Mayfair, meanwhile, was impressed by ‘violet and raspberry on the nose’, which was followed by ‘plum and cherry fruit on the spicy palate, leading to a nice finish with more violet and some mint’.

£9.60 Eurowines

The first Gold in a massive medal haul for Barolo this year, this had ‘sweet red fruit aromas with mossy, mushroom hints, and juicy and exotic fruit on the palate, with tobacco and spice’, began Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent, while team leader Nigel Lister enjoyed its ‘tarry, smoky nose, young bright fruit and glistening acidity, showing good typicity’. ‘A very fine, elegant structure, with a perfumed nose and ripe, fresh fruit on the palate,’ concluded Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants.

£20.88 Winetraders

Double-decanting was advised for this ‘youthful, tarry, meaty’ style that captured the hearts of our judges while taking the Gold, and leaving an impression on Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent with its ‘botanical aromas, great tannins and well-integrated oak on the palate, with good length and a juicy finish’. ‘Composed, elegant and balanced,’ added Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants, who enjoyed its ‘developing bouquet, with undergrowth, dried leaves and flowers, and a tar note too’.

£42.72 ANTICA CASA VINICOLA SCARPA srl

Clearly a Gold medallist, to go by the generous praise from our judges. Team leader Lionel Periner highlighted ‘notes of kirsch and dried flowers’, while Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason found it ‘complex and excellent, with dark chocolate, coffee-mocha, tar and tobacco aromas, woody and earthy, tomato skin with dark cherries, plum and damson on the palate’. All of this, plus ‘lots of potential for ageing’, thought Crafthouse’s Andrea Rossi.

£22.70 Rovellotti Viticoltori in Ghemme

‘A distant, autumnal, poetic nose: a lark ascending,’ mused team leader Nigel Lister, who, back on the ground, appreciated this Gold medallist’s ‘lovely red fruit’ and thought there was ‘great potential in a lovely wine, made for rich game dishes’. Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent agreed, finding ‘intense floral aromas, dried petals and cardamom spice notes, sous-bois and cocoa notes with juicy tannins’, while Leonie Loudon of Mediterroenean – Wines of the Mediterranean was taken with its ‘beautiful robe of violets and red and black fruits, elegant tannins and a hint of rosemary on the finish’.

£29.23 Moreno Wines

This highly acclaimed Gold Lister was ‘a big wine’, according to consultant Charles Pashby-Taylor, who admired ‘lots of fresh new oak that will integrate with time, underlying rich ripe fruit with bright acids and fresh tannins, and classic high notes of red fruits’. Team leader Tom Forrest praised ‘spicy cedar and oak, with some violet aromas too, leading to a soft palate with pepper and cherry joining more cedar, spice and floral notes’.

£58.70 Liberty Wines

As this took its place on the Gold podium, The Don’s Carlos Ferreira described ‘black and red fruits, dried tomato and black olives on the nose, and an elegant palate’, while team leader Angela Reddin enjoyed its ‘sandalwood and tobacco aromas with Morello cherry fruit, brisk tightness and lovely freshness’, adding that it was ‘very well made, elegant and delicious’. ‘Intense and fresh at the same time, and both rounded and elegant on the palate,’ summed up Elisa Soggia of Kai Mayfair.

£20.75 Tenuta Olim Bauda

Impressing Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms with its ‘herbs and tar on the palate, great fruit all in place and well-structured tannins’, for Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club this clear Gold candidate also revealed ‘dark cherry with gentle farmyard aromas, black pepper spice with fresh plum notes on the palate and complex tannins’. ‘Rustic and polished at the same time’, summed up Andrés Ituarte of Coq d’Argent, describing ‘layers of flowers, forest floor and worn oak’.

£35.57 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

A wine with a difference, and deserving of Gold, with Christopher Parker of Lime Wood Hotel noting ‘fresh herbs, dill and tarragon, along with red berries and lashings of Turkish Delight’, and team leader Simon Woods also enjoying its ‘quirky style, with earthy strawberry fruit, dainty and lively palate with good balance and a slightly herbal finish’. ‘An interesting wine with a big personality,’ said Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles, who liked its ‘spicy cherry fruit and a lovely freshness’.

£13.33 The Wine Drinker

‘Earthy, fresh berry aromas, really savoury, unoaked, chunky berry-fruit style,’ began Le Cordon Bleu London’s Matthieu Longuère MS, who found it ‘well made in a traditional style that’s perfect for cold cuts’, while team leader Angela Reddin liked its ‘plum and cherry nose with balsamic, iodine hints, bubblegum and juicy fruits on the palate’, making it a ‘good pub wine’.

£8.00 Boutinot

‘Ripe, rich and impressive,’ began team leader Simon Woods, who found it ‘deep, plush, very modern and flashy, but balanced and intense, with dark cherry and blackcurrant fruit’, while Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin enjoyed its ‘big, chunky, spicy, smoky, musky’ character.

£32.60 Eurowines

Christopher Parker of Lime Wood Hotel admired this wine’s ‘premium style, gravelly stone minerals with hedgerow blackberry fruit and forest floor notes’, while Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin found it a ‘generous, nice quaff, with clafoutis-like, juicy, dark plum and sour cherry fruit, spiced and smoky with a touch of dark chocolate’.

£14.60 Eurowines

Matthieu Longuère MS of Le Cordon Bleu London liked this wine’s ‘unmanipulated, dry, earthy, Morello cherry and savoury-meaty style’, while Daria Ershova of Ten Green Bottles highlighted ‘red cherry and balanced oak, fresh acidity with very textural, soft tannins, notes of white pepper and eucalyptus and a long finish’.

£28.50 ANTICA CASA VINICOLA SCARPA srl

Gabriele Galuppo of Theo Randall at the InterContinental found ‘nice, complex fruit aromas with mineral notes and spices, very food-friendly in the mouth with fruit-driven flavours, ripe and well-integrated tannins’, while Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin picked out its ‘precise, pure style with strawberry and anise, and leafy bitter-sweet notes, savoury on the finish’.

£22.05 ANTICA CASA VINICOLA SCARPA srl

With ‘violets and cherry aromas dominating, followed by very earthy and meaty notes with a touch of pungent spice’, Mario Tomekovic of Smiths of Smithfield found ‘firm tannins but an enjoyable palate, with fruitiness and balsamic flavours giving complexity, leading to a long aftertaste’, and thought it would be ‘great to accompany main dishes’.

£15.29 Continental Wine and Food

‘Earthy and funky, truffle nose, smooth and young on the palate, tannins needing to soften, but fantastic wine!’ said a keen Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine. Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason was in agreement, noting: ‘Very meaty, leathery, full, with powerful tannins and complex fruits, to be decanted, and will be amazing in a decade!’

£44.63 Alivini

A more scented style, with The Don’s Carlos Ferreira discovering ‘a nose full of cherry and some pine-like, eucalyptus elements, white pepper hints on the palate, which is fruity and well balanced’, and team leader Angela Reddin enjoying a ‘delicious factor in the mouth, silky smooth tannins with abundant and luscious fruit’.

£12.00 VinumTerra

Providing ‘lovely textbook violet and bramble fruit and polished style’ for Le Cordon Bleu London’s Matthieu Longuère MS, this revealed ‘tomato, grass and black fruits on the nose, a palate of cherry liquor and black spices’ and ‘a bit of tannin’ for The Don’s Carlos Ferreira, who thought it ‘very well balanced’.

£15.89 Bibendum

Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent liked this wine’s ‘dried leaves and tar, goji berries and forest floor on the nose, elegant and supple palate with balanced floral and tarry characters’ and thought it had ‘a good finish’, with Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms noting ‘delicate red fruit and spice following nicely on to the palate with fine tannins and all elements in place’.

£18.50 GIV UK

This left an impression on Melania Bellesini of The Fat Duck, with its ‘beautiful floral bouquet of rose petals, violets and fresh summer berries, elegant raspberry, strawberry and Morello cherry, then a very juicy palate with fine tannins, layers of fresh fruit, sweet spices and vanilla, and long finish of crunchy red fruits’.

£15.98 Liberty Wines

This was a ‘grown-up wine with refined tannins and good acidity’ for Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn, and Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason enjoyed its ‘floral violets, meaty biltong and suede-leather on the nose, very complex, full and rounded palate with sun-dried tomato, fresh acidity and long finish’, concluding: ‘Delightful.’

£36.31 Boutinot

‘Big, juicy, rich and concentrated, tarry and meaty,’ began Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent, backed up by Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club, who liked its ‘fresh raspberry fruit with baked, spiced notes on the nose, meaty complexity with earthy oak notes on the palate, dark olives and a powerful finish’.

£29.30 Enotria&Coe

A pleasingly different wine for team leader Angela Reddin, with its ‘very distinctive, smoky hot stone, tea chest aromas over summer berries, followed by a lighter and more elegant palate than expected, with a luxurious finish’. ‘Lovely plummy fruit with grip, an interesting food wine,’ added Le Cordon Bleu London’s Matthieu Longuère MS.

£18.32 Alivini

‘Orange baked notes, alcohol warmth, hints of tea on the nose,’ began team leader Jade Koch, who found it ‘really interesting, long and mineral, cool and lean yet full of secret life, will age but is dancing with purple fruits, pepper and raisins, very exciting’.

£21.45 Eurowines

‘Ripe cherries and allspice aromas, soft and warm on the palate, but refreshing,’ said Lime Wood Hotel’s Christopher Parker, with Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin finding ‘upfront, crunchy berry fruit, soft texture with a hint of bitterness on the finish’.

£6.25 Boutinot

£15.45 Jascots Wine Merchants

£7.09 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£19.48 Top Selection Ltd

£37.03 Bibendum

£23.05 Eurowines

£9.42 Boutinot

£11.34 Boutinot

£27.59 Liberty Wines

£13.65 Tenuta Olim Bauda

£11.42 Davy's Wine Merchants

£11.50 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£16.34 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

An impressive Gold medal recipient, this had a ‘full, volcanic nose with hints of incense and floral notes’, according to Matteo Furlan of The Ritz London, who found a ‘lovely palate that’s dry, with primary fruit, fresh and balanced, and elegant, too, with hints of oak and minerality on a long finish’. Meanwhile consultant Charles Pashby-Taylor picked up notes of ‘sweet grapefruit, balanced acidity and fleshy peach with a grassy finish’.

£18.42 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Mineral, elderflower, citrus and flowers on the palate,’ mused Geoffray Bénat of Cépage[s] Wine Bistro as this was added to the Gold List, while James Fryer of Woodhead 17 found it ‘very perfumed, with pear and white flowers, and almonds on the nose, with brown pear skin, wheat and subtle oyster shells on the palate, and acacia flowers on the finish with pear syrup and lychee complexity’. ‘Aromatic, juicy and tropical, with great acidity and complexity,’ concluded Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason.

£24.90 Eurowines

One of a pair of Gavi Golds for La Scolca, Yauatcha City’s Linh Ziolkowska praised its ‘depth and character, showing freshness, acidity, citrus and minerality, with a medium-weight finish’, and Woodhead 17’s James Fryer enjoyed its ‘nose of white florals and pear flesh, soft and fuzzy nectarine on the palate with subtle acids and some lactic, salty mineral notes’. For Andrea Carozzo of The Mount Vineyard, ‘green and citrus fruits’ led to ‘a delicate palate, with good balance overall’.

£13.55 Eurowines

‘Restrained lemon peel with a creamy mid-palate, savoury lees and an oily texture,’ said team leader Annette Scarfe MW on encountering this Gold medallist. ‘Its delicate use of oak gives body and structure, and it’s still youthful so worth decanting to reveal its depth and complexity,’ she recommended. Fellow team leader Tom Forrest, meanwhile, described ‘wet stones and peach, orange and tropical notes, too, as well as a nutty, toasty element’.

£16.04 Liberty Wines

Matteo Furlan of The Ritz London liked this wine’s ‘really zesty aromas’, describing a ‘dry and crisp style with primary fruit and a little spritz on the palate with good length’, while Andrea Carozzo of The Mount Vineyard found it to have ‘a delicate nose, with green apple and floral aromas, with pear, lemon and a hint of yoghurt on the palate’.

£17.35 Top Selection Ltd

‘Delicate lemon zest with a slight spritz, a textured mid-palate typically Arneis,’ began team leader Annette Scarfe MW, while for consultant Charles Pashby-Taylor it was all about ‘spring showers and fresh grass, good texture and white peach’.

£10.50 Davy's Wine Merchants

Valentin Radosav of Gymkhana found ‘yellow flower and hazelnut aromas, then a rich, ripe, zesty palate of peach and melon fruit with notes of camomile, and a long, zesty finish’. Meanwhile team leader Annette Scarfe MW noted a ‘lovely creamy mid-palate with lemon and grapefruit rind, ripe stone fruit and a fresh finish’.

£11.30 Winetraders

‘Nice nose of Nashi pear with a fresh fruit palate, very direct with high acidity,’ began Yauatcha City’s Linh Ziolkowska, with James Fryer of Woodhead 17 noting ‘yellow fruit, pear and hazelnut, brown pear flesh and wheat on the palate with touches of grapefruit pith and sea salt edges’.

£13.58 Bibendum

Woodhead 17’s James Fryer enjoyed this Gavi’s ‘nuttier-style nose with hints of almond skin and wheat’, noting ‘apricot stones and oyster shells on the palate, almost Petit Chablis-esque or Muscadet in character’, while team leader Martin Lam noted ‘wet stone and pear aromas, aromatic and floral on the palate’.

£9.54 Matthew Clark

£9.00 Boutinot

£8.29 LWC Drinks Ltd (Merchant and Shippers)

£11.25 VinumTerra

£12.21 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£18.77 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£15.78 Winetraders

£11.00 Bibendum

£16.11 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘A gentle giant,’ began Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason in his praise of this Gold medallist, finding ‘lots of ripe tannin and structure, but with ripe fruit and liquorice, and a savoury element too’, while freelance sommelier Julio Iglesias enjoyed notes of ‘tobacco, vanilla and some minerality’, finding the combination to be ‘balanced and structured’. A perfect match for pork ribs with a sweet glaze, added team leader Laurent Richet MS.

£11.70 Eurowines

‘Class, sophistication and elegance’, in the words of Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, were just the characteristics to elevate this to Gold, with Mason praising it for being ‘food orientated and great value’. ‘Musky forest fruits’ led, according to team leader Nigel Lister, to ‘coffee notes on the palate, with some elegant dark chocolate, too’, while Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club was impressed by ‘plum and sweet cinnamon, with a fresh, elegant earthiness on the palate, and some gentle, fresh raspberry fruit’.

£11.60 Winetraders

‘A ripe and juicy wine, with red fruit and soft tannins, as well as some fresh acidity, and good spice on the finish. Good value for money, too,’ said team leader Annette Scarfe MW. Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn agreed: ‘Good cherry-fruit flavours and nice acidity – as well as a great price.’

£5.30 Fuller's

‘Sweet black fruit, as well as some smoke,’ began Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent, while for Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club this had ‘jammy plum aromas with a light herbal note, leading to some sweet spice and gentle cherry notes’ that culminated in ‘a complex finish’.

£9.84 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

For team leader Annette Scarfe MW this had ‘ripe, rich and generous fruit, with well-balanced use of oak’, making it ‘a good food wine, with soft tannins’. Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine found it ‘broody and rambunctious, with rich, big fruit’.

£16.80 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

This Puglian red had, according to Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine, ‘great fresh-fruit intensity and some good complexity’, while team leader Annette Scarfe MW described ‘a warm, spicy nose, with clean, vibrant fruit and dark chocolate notes, and soft, ripe tannins’.

£20.43 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

For team leader Annette Scarfe MW, this opened with ‘an attractive nose, with mixed fruit compote and some spice’, which led to ‘a fresh mid-palate that’s concentrated and spicy, and not cloying’. Erik Simonics of La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons, meanwhile, found it ‘rich and full, with oak and sweet spice’.

£11.80 Eurowines

‘A light, soft and gentle wine – fresh and fun, with ripe red fruit,’ described Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, while Piers Gibson-Birch of Wernher Restaurant at Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa found it ‘light yet intense, a fresh, sour red fruit character’.

£14.15 Laytons

‘A complex, balanced wine,’ began Mikolaj Harmider of Adam’s Restaurant, who spoke of ‘dark berry fruit and a long finish’, while Jurijs Nemkovs of Hakkasan Mayfair found it to have ‘a complex nose and palate, with a generous structure’.

£13.20 Eurowines

‘A high-intensity wine, with smoky dark fruit,’ said team leader Lionel Periner, while Core by Clare Smyth’s Timothy Connor appreciated its ‘rich red and black fruit, with good acidity and ripe tannins’, and Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason described ‘peppery spice aromas’.

£12.14 Alivini

‘A big wine with big, ripe tannins and some vibrant acidity, not to mention some complex black fruit, chocolate and spice notes,’ said team leader Annette Scarfe MW, while Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn found it to be ‘perfumed and floral, with nice balance, and some minerality too’.

£10.14 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘Elegance from southern Italy,’ began Wild Wine Club’s Debbie Warner, describing a wine with ‘perfumed violets on the nose, and sour cherries, damsons and sloes on the palate, all leading to a mouth-puckering finish that’s crying out for food’.

£16.50 Liberty Wines

‘A complex wine,’ began Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms, describing ‘coffee, dried plum, prune and menthol’ aromas, leading to ‘sweet berry fruit with some wood smoke’ on the palate, while Timothy Connor of Core by Clare Smyth called it ‘dark, rich and intense’ and suggested this was ‘one for food’.

£19.94 Liberty Wines

Team leader Simon Woods found this ‘rounded, with generous berry and prune notes’, while Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent described ‘biscuit notes, as well as blackberries and some liquorice’, which contributed towards this wine’s ‘elegance and balance’.

£10.96 Enotria&Coe

‘An intense aroma of dried figs and raisins, with some sweet spice on the palate balanced by ripe red fruits and blackcurrants, all elevated by some acidity,’ said Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine. ‘Spicy with some complexity,’ thought team leader Annette Scarfe MW, also finding ‘ripe fruit and soft tannins’.

£12.55 Liberty Wines

‘A rich and full-bodied wine,’ began Erik Simonics of La Dame de Pic at Four Seasons, going on to describe ‘ripe, dark fruits complemented by some sweet spice and leading to a long finish’, while team leader Annette Scarfe MW identified some ‘generous use of oak’.

£11.24 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Raisins and plums on the nose, leading to some sweet spice, like cinnamon and nutmeg,’ said Hakkasan Mayfair’s Jurijs Nemkovs, while Mikolaj Harmider of Adam’s Restaurant found ‘cloves and gingerbread, with some ripe tannins on the long finish’.

£7.84 Bibendum

This had upfront ‘red fruit and kirsch’ aromas, according to team leader Lionel Periner, with a ‘full, well-balanced palate’, while Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason described a wine that was ‘savoury and resinous, with good concentration and smooth ripe tannins’, making it a food-friendly wine, he explained.

£10.40 Liberty Wines

£7.69 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£18.33 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£27.60 Mondial Wine

£39.50 Eurowines

£7.64 Bibendum

£14.22 Bibendum

£14.06 Bibendum

£14.60 Eurowines

£11.20 Eurowines

£10.40 Liberty Wines

£9.97 Alivini

£10.67 Bibendum

‘An enticing nose’ was among the effusive praise this Sicilian red received, along with its Gold medal, with Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia describing ‘an opulent palate, with good length’. For Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants, this had ‘a smoky, tarry nose reminiscent of Nebbiolo’, as well as ‘firm structure, fruit that is intense and dark, and good concentration too’. This food-friendly combination had The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston’s Giuseppe Longobardi picturing it with ‘venison with cranberry, or haggis’.

£29.98 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘A vibrant, pleasant summer wine,’ said an impressed Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles as this took a well-deserved Gold medal, finding ‘lovely fresh fruits and good acidity’. Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse identified ‘lavender perfume and a splash of cinnamon towards the finish’, and Tate Catering’s Hamish Anderson thought it was ‘hugely drinkable’, praising its ‘pretty, fragrant nose with cherries and wild flowers, and an elegant, pure palate with more cherries, wild herbs, and the grip of some fresh tannin’.

£16.50 Liberty Wines

A clear Gold List candidate, this had ‘blackcurrant, cherry and blackberry jam notes’, began Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston, who went on to describe a palate packed with ‘liquorice and spice that is well balanced by tannins, and leading to a sweet finish’. ‘Rounded ripe fruit, with chocolate and nuts too, leading to an elegant finish,’ said Four Degree’s Jonathan Kleeman, summing it up as ‘punchy, and very drinkable’.

£13.33 The Wine Drinker

‘A great value wine,’ said team leader Laura Rhys MS, who went on to describe ‘soft berry fruit, as well as spice, cocoa and coffee notes’, while Melody Wong of Ten Trinity Square Private Club noted ‘baked strawberry and pastry notes’.

£5.30 Fuller's

Andrés Rangel of Sketch enjoyed notes of ‘menthol and liquorice, with some high tannins’ in this Sardinian red. Yohann Pinol of Wiltons appreciated its ‘smokiness, and with some good structure, too’, while The Connaught’s Aurel Istrate liked its ‘very good oak integration’.

£26.08 Davy's Wine Merchants

‘A full wine, with good fruit concentration,’ began Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants in his praise of this Sardinian red, describing ‘ripe, sweet, red and black fruit, with a chocolatey and smoky palate’. ‘A very serious wine, with good tannins and dark fruit,’ concluded team leader Laurent Richet MS.

£15.00 Eurowines

Team leader Angela Reddin described ‘cherries, chocolate and a slight whiff of anise too’, finding this to have ‘lovely balance’. ‘Amazing rich, dark flavours here make bison with a parmesan honey crust come to mind,’ added The London Cookhouse’s Michael Moore.

£13.17 Davy's Wine Merchants

‘A complex wine, with cured meat, thyme and pine needle notes,’ said team leader Laurent Richet MS, while Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants described a wine with ‘great concentration and power, with lots of wild herbs and red fruits, and well-integrated oak’.

£43.41 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘So perfumed!’ began team leader Jade Koch, who went on to describe ‘an interesting nose, with Earl Grey tea and strawberry notes, leading to a palate that’s big, yet lean, with good, ripe mulberry fruit and culminating in a drying finish’.

£10.14 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘A massive wine, with chalky and spicy notes,’ said team leader Jade Koch, while Andrés Rangel of Sketch thought it ‘rustic in style, with high tannins’. Yohann Pinol of Wiltons described it as ‘rich and opulent, and concentrated, too’.

£45.80 Liberty Wines

Team leader Laurent Richet MS was impressed by this Sicilian red’s ‘lovely intensity, with dried roses on the nose’, while Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants found ‘ripe, red fruit and sweet spices, leading to a juicy, fruit-forward palate, with some oak tannins’.

£9.94 Bibendum

‘Bright red berry fruit leads to earthiness and mushroom notes, as well as some sweet spice, and smooth, silky tannins,’ was how Ten Trinity Square Private Club’s Melody Wong described this Nero d’Avola, which Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston praised for its ‘crisp palate with tobacco and blackcurrant notes’.

£10.99 Maisons Marques et Domaines

‘An intense, pronounced nose with violets, dark cherries and black fruit, leading to more floral notes on the palate, and good length,’ said Jose Luis Hernandez of Hakkasan Hanway Place, while Ten Trinity Square Private Club’s Melody Wong found it ‘pure and elegant, with raspberry, strawberry and sweet spice’.

£8.20 VinumTerra

‘Bitter chocolate and blueberry tart’ was team leader Jade Koch’s description of this Sicilian red, and she found the palate to be ‘lean and oh so dry’. Aurel Istrate of The Connaught complimented its ‘good balance and tannins, and good length, too’.

£19.95 Mondial Wine

‘Dark and inky fruit’ was team leader Laura Rhys MS’s first impression of this Sicilian red, going on to find ‘bold but integrated tannins, as well as some good freshness, and with super-spicy black pepper notes, and lovely length, too’.

£21.75 Eurowines

‘Notes of cherry and mocha, as well as some umami characteristics, all lead to a medley of crunchy fruit,’ said Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia, with Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse finding ‘rich, dark chocolate on the palate, with a smooth berry finish’.

£7.15 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘A concentrated, structured wine’ thought Glasshouse’s Adam Michocki, going on to describe notes of ‘blueberry, mulberry and prune, as well as smoke, toast and tar’. ‘Fruit concentration is balanced by firm structure – good winemaking,’ added Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants.

£21.75 Eurowines

‘Warming bramble fruit notes, with dark, chewy sandalwood and a silky smooth finish,’ said Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia, while team leader Angela Reddin thought this had some ageing potential, with ‘lovely juicy weight of fruit and great tannic structure’.

£29.79 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston liked this wine’s ‘toasted notes and cherry, blackberry and cranberry fruit’, while team leader Laura Rhys MS thought it ‘inky and intense, with bold, ripe fruits along with spice, dried herbs, a meaty note and defined tannins’.

£9.40 VinumTerra

‘A lovely nose with fruit, spice and minerality,’ began Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles, going on to describe this as ‘creamy on the palate, with a lovely finish’, while Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse thought it was ‘very well developed and balanced’.

£9.63 Enotria&Coe

‘Very pleasant,’ began Yohann Pinol of Wiltons, who went on to describe ‘fresh red fruit aromas, with soft tannins on the palate, and a long, fruity finish’, while team leader Jade Koch found it ‘warm and drying, and very savoury’.

£15.10 VinumTerra

‘Ripe, cooked bramble fruit on the nose leads to a dry, juicy palate with smooth tannins and a hint of sweetness on the finish,’ said team leader Lionel Periner, while Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles described it as ‘very easy drinking, with tobacco and violet notes, and refreshing acidity’.

£7.83 Bibendum

‘An inky wine, with ripe fruit, black berries and vanilla notes,’ began team leader Laurent Richet MS, with Glasshouse’s Adam Michocki finding ‘tar and smoke, with prune and black cherry, too’, and suggesting that this would be ‘very good for meaty dishes’.

£12.58 Ester Wines

£13.50 Mondial Wine

£13.50 Mondial Wine

£12.30 Eurowines

£7.15 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£16.55 Eurowines

£11.70 Eurowines

£15.85 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£13.92 Alivini

£13.98 Boutinot

£12.00 Boutinot

£6.41 VinumTerra

£6.50 VinumTerra

£8.30 Enotria&Coe

£11.95 Enotria&Coe

£33.22 Enotria&Coe

£8.29 Bibendum

£7.56 Bibendum

£15.75 Liberty Wines

£20.13 Liberty Wines

£34.57 Alivini

Puglia took the Gold here, with Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin enjoying its ‘ripe and juicy, pear-like fruit with liquorice hints, juicy, mineral and leafy palate that’s intense with fine texture, oiliness and minerality’, while Lime Wood Hotel’s Christopher Parker picked up ‘ripe apricots with gala melon notes, and a wild heather floral touch with ground white pepper’. For Diana Rollan of More than Wines Academy, ‘intense citrus and grassy notes, with good spice, balance, texture and weight’ made this ‘perfect for green curry’.

£14.06 Bibendum

‘Fresh and vibrant with a slightly green herbal edge, bright and juicy with lemon and fennel notes,’ began team leader Simon Woods, with Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin finding ‘peppery, vegetal, floral and grapefruit notes, refreshing acidity and mineral’.

£8.60 Bibendum

In a more unusual, aromatic style, this showed ‘peach, citrus and blossom aromas’, said Le Cordon Bleu London’s Matthieu Longuère MS, along with ‘pink grapefruit, really juicy-pithy fruit and a very long finish’. ‘Quince and a hint of Turkish jelly and spice, intriguing on the palate,’ added team leader Angela Reddin.

£13.20 Eurowines

‘Perfect for summer,’ began The Don’s Carlos Ferreira, enjoying its ‘apple and citrus nose and fresh palate’, while team leader Angela Reddin picked up on its ‘slight spritz, nectarine and melon, lemon sherbet character’, finding it ‘nicely ripe and fresh’.

£8.50 Liberty Wines

Full of fruit, with Daria Ershova of Ten Green Bottles picking up ‘pear drops, orange blossom and lime on the palate, with some apple and pear notes’, and team leader Angela Reddin finding it ‘lifted and vibrant, with vanilla and cooked yellow fruits with a touch of spice, nicely fat with a complex finish’.

£11.35 Liberty Wines

There were ‘Mediterranean aromas, oregano herb notes on a complex and intense nose’, said Gabriele Galuppo of Theo Randall at the InterContinental, followed by ‘a dry palate with moderate acidity and more herbal flavours’. ‘Stony, yeasty and vegetal, zingy with a bitter touch,’ added Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin.

£11.60 Winetraders

Lime Wood Hotel’s Christopher Parker liked this wine’s ‘oily texture, baked gooseberry tart, touch of dried thyme and sandstone minerals’, while for Hakkasan’s Olivier Gasselin it was ‘quite perfumed, with banana skin and ripe tropical notes’.

£11.20 Eurowines

‘Melon and blood orange with a hint of grapefruit on a good, rich, fruity nose,’ said team leader Angela Reddin, noting a ‘generous palate with a slightly bitter finish making it a good food wine’.

£10.30 Mondial Wine, Gerrard Seel

£7.50 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£9.08 Bibendum

£10.30 Mondial Wine, Gerrard Seel

£9.91 Bibendum

One of a trio of Sicilian Golds, this impressed our judges, with Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn enjoying its ‘fresh and ripe lemons and limes on the nose, good acidity with some tropical notes on the palate and a background of minerality’. Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason noted ‘gentle citrus and stone fruit, mineral backbone’, finding it ‘fresh and smooth with herbal notes and grapefruit on the finish’.

£10.79 Ester Wines

Aromatic concentration was central to this wine, and marked it out clearly for Gold, with Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants finding ‘delicate blossomy aromas, white flowers and grapey honey millefeuille, a palate dominated by aromatics, with more flowers, an oily texture and medium acidity, but matching the lean cut of the nose’. ‘Maybe Asian food,’ mused team leader Laurent Richet MS, picking up ‘assertive peach and apricot with vibrant acidity, clean and delicious’.

£13.50 Mondial Wine

Impressed with its ‘rich, honeyed, almost smoked palate’, team leader Andrea Briccarello found ‘great complexity and delicious savoury style’ as this wine joined its fellow Sicilians on the Gold podium. Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS was similarly taken with its ‘flowery straw, fruit peel and peach aromas, textured and dense palate with bags of fruit and spices, round but powerful body with balanced acids’. ‘To recommend with some meaty fish or white meats,’ added Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant.

£18.56 Matthew Clark

‘Herbal, clean, grape and white fruit aromas with flower notes, lean and light with a crisp and zingy mid-palate and a long, aromatic finish,’ said Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS, with team leader Andrea Briccarello finding it ‘complex, rich and aromatic, with nectarine and peach fruit and great acidity’.

£12.30 Eurowines

This was ‘all about freshness and crunch, lovely weight, like Grüner Veltliner without the spice’, Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants explained, while Kai Mayfair’s Elisa Soggia picked up ‘very creamy citrus sweetness, grass and lemongrass on the nose, rich and rounded palate that’s a touch peppery with a hint of mint’.

£15.85 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Good local character here for Cristian Sánchez of Hotel du Vin Cambridge, who picked up ‘aromas of bitter orange and grapefruit, green apple and orange blossom floral notes, light on the palate with high acidity and a touch more bitterness on the finish’, while Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants felt it was ‘a notch up, subtle aromas with oiliness, texture from lees contact, fruit more pear than peach with good concentration’.

£8.30 Enotria&Coe

Simone Fadda of Roka Aldwych was drawn to this wine’s ‘fruity aromas with lemon peel and jasmine flower and tea leaf hints, slightly creamy texture with gentle acidity’, while Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS found ‘potpourri and lychee notes combined with coconut and peach, tinned fruit on a palate of great drive with a balanced outcome’.

£11.00 Davy's Wine Merchants

Timothy Connor of Core by Clare Smyth picked up ‘grapefruit minerality and acidity with notes of honey and melon, green herbs’, while Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn felt its ‘guava and banana, bright fruit and mineral edge’ would be ‘good with salads or tuna’.

£7.26 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants liked its ‘medium-intense nose of sundried grass, sweet lemon peel, bitter orange and a perception of bruised fruit ripeness, lively acidity on a succulent, mineral, grapey palate with an almost Zibibbo aftertaste’.

£9.99 Enotria&Coe

‘A fun wine,’ said Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine, with its ‘citrus and lychee, floral aromas, juicy fruit and bubblegum hints’, while Timothy Connor of Core by Clare Smyth pointed to its ‘fleshy fruit with a kick of flower petals and some oaky spice, with notes of tinned fruit on the palate’.

£12.10 Bibendum

Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant highlighted ‘lime and lemon citrus character with minerality that would cut nicely through more oily dishes’, while team leader Andrea Briccarello found it ‘green, grassy and vegetal, with great fruit and acidity on the palate’.

£9.82 Bibendum

£7.15 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£12.75 Eurowines

£11.61 Alivini

£9.46 VinumTerra

£7.22 Bibendum

£13.92 Alivini

£8.32 Bibendum

The first of a pair of Golds for Montalcino and Portland Restaurant’s Carolina Seibel was impressed with its ‘complexity, developing red and dark fruit and dried red berry aromas, leathery plushness on the palate with good structure, solid tannins and notes of orange with oak integration and a plummy finish’. ‘Textbook nose, with cigar box notes, great freshness and vibrancy,’ added team leader Andrea Briccarello, while Mathew Simmonds of Paul Kitching 21212 Restaurant, Edinburgh thought it perfect for lamb or boar dishes.

£25.72 Boutinot

‘Drink this with urgency!’ advised Street XO’s Raphael Thierry on encountering this worthy Gold winner, loving its ‘balsamic and smoky nose, followed by a palate showing good development with dried fig, chocolate and tomato, leather and dark spices’, while Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte noted a ‘soft palate and more traditional style, with cooked red fruit and blackberry crumble characters, some hints of sweaty leather and worn oak’.

£29.85 Top Selection Ltd

Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte was most impressed with this wine’s Gold-worthy SuperTuscan styling, finding a ‘silky mouthfeel with grip, and tonnes of fruit that makes this very appealing now, though it’s built to last, showing lots of leather and pepper, plenty of tomato and well-integrated oak’. Team leader Laurent Richet MS noted ‘hints of smoke on a ripe, juicy palate, with great texture, balance, length and power’, while fellow team leader Sam Caporn MW appreciated its ‘green and leafy notes, with deep cedar and capsicum, and a silky palate’.

£51.50 Eurowines

A ‘beautifully perfumed style, with violets and blackberries, meaty and fleshy on the palate,’ began team leader Andrea Briccarello as this took the Gold, with an equally impressed Carolina Seibel of Portland Restaurant finding it ‘plush yet angular, showing dark berries and good oak structure with lightly floral and orange characters on the finish and fine, grippy tannins’. ‘Spicy and toasty, with tar and violet notes, as well as plums, with ripe, mature tannins and good concentration,’ concluded Diana Rollan of More than Wines Academy.

£38.91 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

Carolina Seibel of Portland Restaurant found ‘overripe strawberries with herbaceous and slightly medicinal notes on the nose, great structure on the palate with dark chocolate and great integration, leafy with freshening acidity’. ‘Cherry stone, fleshy fruit with lots of juicy character, soft and easy to drink,’ added team leader Andrea Briccarello.

£12.15 Top Selection Ltd

This ‘evolved wine with an orange rim’ was a hit with team leader Laurent Richet MS, with its ‘aromas of prune in eau-de-vie, incredible spice, cedar, leather and dried mushroom notes, turned earth, cigar box and cassis, then a lightly fragrant palate with fairly powerful tannic structure’. ‘Lovely,’ agreed Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte, also noting ‘rustic, crunchy red fruits, Christmas spices, tomato leaf and worn oak, leather and earth’.

£12.50 Gentle Wine Merchant, 3Venice Wine Merchants, Natural Bay Limited

‘A food wine for stewed meals,’ began team leader Laurent Richet MS, finding ‘baked tomato and cedar aromas, very Sangiovese, lovely structure with moderate acidity’, while for Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte it was ‘very elegant, fresh and medium-bodied with great balance, peppercorns, cinnamon and clove notes with a long red-fruit finish’.

£27.00 Bibendum

For Geoffray Bénat of Cépage[s] Wine Bistro there was plenty of ‘dark fruit, blackcurrant and blackberry with cigar box spicy aromas, full body with sweet blackberry and nice freshness’, while team leader Martin Lam highlighted a ‘rich, ripe, savoury nose, lifted, then a rich palate, quite high-toned with deep black cherry fruit and a long finish’.

£33.48 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘A good restaurant wine,’ declared Frédéric Billet of Luton Hoo Hotel Golf & Spa, enjoying its ‘pleasant nose of blackberries, chocolate and spices, good balance of tannin and acidity with notes of black pepper and leather’.

£21.86 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn liked its ‘inky, brooding and dark’ appearance, finding a palate of ‘lively fruit and prominent acidity that could mature’, and Vinoteca’s Charlie Young praised its ‘great mix of fruit and spice on the nose, dark fruit with loads of tannins but lovely balance’, declaring it ‘young but very good’.

£25.28 Top Selection Ltd

Mattia Scarpazza of Petersham Nurseries found plenty to like in this wine’s ‘peppery, bright red cherry and cedar spice aromas, black plums and damsons on the palate’, and thought it was ‘rounded and long on the finish’, while team leader Andrea Briccarello picked up ‘good wild berry, gamey, very intense aromas, and a great, complex, juicy mid-palate with a spicy finish’.

£25.00 TryWines Expertise Limited - edoardo amadi

‘Interesting roasted tomato and thyme on the nose, and on the palate there’s leather and a tannic structure just asking for food,’ said Street XO’s Raphael Thierry, with team leader Laurent Richet MS liking its ‘sour cherries, cedar, leather and earth notes’, adding: ‘A little austere on the palate but lovely dark fruit and youthful tannin structure.’

£18.04 Liberty Wines

Street XO’s Raphael Thierry was very taken with this wine’s ‘lovely dried herbs, redcurrant and roasted tomato on the nose, good concentration and juiciness on the palate showing sandalwood complexity on the finish’, while for team leader Laurent Richet MS it was ‘more on the prune and dates side, a complex wine, well-mannered, with cassis fruit and good acidity to last well’.

£22.55 Liberty Wines

Vinoteca’s Charlie Young was struck by this wine’s ‘mint and mineral freshness on the nose, lovely freshness and purity, beautifully defined red fruit with elegance and fine tannins on the palate’, while Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn enjoyed a ‘perfumed nose with redcurrants and bramble bushes, soft and silky on the palate with a long finish’.

£33.88 Liberty Wines

Team leader Jade Koch highlighted ‘aromas of tea, raisins and tobacco, an interesting baked character on the palate with lots of straw and thick fruit, hot and lean, drying yet long’, while Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn found it ‘subtle yet complex, with smooth and well-integrated tannin and good acid balance’.

£39.69 Bibendum

‘Very juicy, cherry and plum fruit with a smoky and wild character and soft tannins, spices and chocolate,’ said team leader Andrea Briccarello, with Portland Restaurant’s Carolina Seibel highlighting ‘red fruit and orange zest notes, mushroomy and grippy character with a hint of tannin tartness’.

£23.30 Alivini

‘Rich fruit, sour cherry aromas with some nutty hints,’ began Mattia Scarpazza of Petersham Nurseries, continuing: ‘Full body and rich, baked damson fruit, elegant and bright with notes of fresh black fruits, and very easy to drink.’

£37.54 Matthew Clark

Joseph Lunn of Suave Wine noted ‘ripe fruits on a youthful and bright nose with menthol hints, ripe plums and prunes on the palate’, and for Vinoteca’s Charlie Young it had ‘understated, savoury aromas, scented herbal character with a great balance of tannins and acidity’.

£17.51 Bibendum

Team leader Nigel Lister found ‘lovely typicity, elegant with charry liquorice and red fruit’, while team leader Andrea Briccarello enjoyed its ‘intense, complex leather notes, great cherry and plum with bitter chocolate on the finish’.

£26.70 Eurowines

‘Lovely, intense and spicy on the nose, with cherry, plums and earthy character, a well done, honest wine,’ said Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles, with Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte noting ‘green bell pepper and heavy wood aromas, tasting of French varieties, with dense, dark fruit concentration and a long finish’.

£19.95 Eurowines

A ‘classic style and good value’ for senior judge Nigel Lister, who liked its ‘farmyardy, sour cherry and bright aromatics, typical Sangiovese red fruit on the palate’, describing it as ‘rich yet elegant’, while team leader Andrea Briccarello found it ‘moreish, with meaty and savoury aromas, great cherry and plum notes’.

£19.38 Boutinot

‘Intense nose and palate of plums, tobacco leaf and chocolate with pleasantly intense tannins; a food wine, finishing with cassis and notes of leather,’ said Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles, with team leader Laurent Richet MS noting its ‘impressive aromas of concentrated fruit in full ripeness, delicate structure and a saline note’.

£35.89 Liberty Wines

‘Sweet, floral nose, lots of ripeness on the palate, power and spice with some elegance on the finish,’ began Vinoteca’s Charlie Young, while team leader Jade Koch found it ‘brooding, inky and robust, with jammy fruit, dusty and a little earthy, but interesting’.

£12.75 Liberty Wines

£24.54 Top Selection Ltd

£15.09 Matthew Clark

£12.88 Bibendum

£39.00 TryWines Expertise Limited - edoardo amadi

£24.50 Liberty Wines

£18.30 Liberty Wines

£34.45 Liberty Wines

£17.20 Liberty Wines

With Fenwick’s James Franklin revelling in its ‘ripe and encompassing nose, pulling you in and wrapping you up’, and Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducial describing ‘lifted eucalyptus and menthol with cooked bramble fruit crumble notes’, this couldn’t have been anything but Gold. The Pig Hotel’s Jacopo Mazzeo added praise for its ‘good varietal character and green pepper, liquorice, coffee and Morello cherries, as well as some firm, ripe tannins’, which added up, he thought, to ‘good ageing potential’.

£21.59 Liberty Wines

Fenwick’s James Franklin was a fan of this wine’s ‘wonderfully forward nose of sweet spices, violet and herbal notes’, and Christoph Hons of Park Chinois highlighted ‘good body, smooth tannins and a yeasty touch with vanilla oak’.

£11.20 VIA Wines

James Franklin of Fenwick very much enjoyed this wine’s ‘great soft and warm nose, compote richness with a gentle spicy warmth on the palate’, which was ‘jammy, but a top-end jam’, while team leader Sam Caporn MW found it ‘lovely, with lifted red fruits and beautifully balanced, integrated oak, showing huge potential’.

£20.75 Liberty Wines

Characterised as ‘deep, dark and dangerous’ by Fenwick’s James Franklin, this would benefit from decanting or further ageing, suggested team leader Sam Caporn MW, who found ‘lots of cassis and soft black fruits, very dry but with good purity’.

£17.15 Bibendum

Impressed with its ‘very pure cassis on the nose, tight black fruit and full flavour’, team leader Sam Caporn MW felt this had a ‘lovely pure fruit profile’, while for Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia it was ‘herbaceous, menthol with classic Cab Franc crunch and grip’.

£12.44 Bibendum

Showing a classic ‘dark fruits and cigar box, crunchy stewed fruit palate’ profile said Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia, while for team leader Sam Caporn MW this was ‘pretty fragrant, with some spicy oak, mulberry and floral notes, sappy oak, well made and balanced’.

£10.83 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia praised this wine for its ‘complexity, concentration and depth’, while team leader Sam Caporn MW picked up ‘notes of aniseed and fennel with slightly stewed fruit character’, and Christoph Hons of Park Chinois found ‘sweet red fruits, good tannin structure with spicy yet fresh notes, too’.

£29.57 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£19.80 Matthew Clark

£10.97 Bibendum

£10.26 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£12.34 Bibendum

£15.22 Enotria&Coe

£13.26 Boutinot

£11.77 Matthew Clark

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

A well-deserved Gold for this Cabernet, with its ‘wonderfully expressive nose, with a soft, creamy, rounded palate’, according to Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia. Team leader Angela Reddin praised its ‘classic nose with great fruit character, tannins that are firm but balanced, and a juicy finish’. Finding it ‘young and vibrant, with dark intense fruit’, team leader Laura Rhys MS saw it best served alongside barbecued wild boar.

£13.16 Bibendum

‘A subtle but expressive nose of berries and oak nuances in harmony and balance,’ was the praise for this wine from Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia as it took Gold, while team leader Angela Reddin thought it was ‘showing development on the nose, with oolong tea and some developed fruit notes, and with an underlying fruit core’. ‘Mushroom and leather aromas jump out, with stewed strawberries and a touch of spice, leading to softened tannins and integrated acidity, and a superb finish with some barnyard and umami flavours,’ added Three Chimneys Restaurant’s Petri Pentikainen.

£27.50 Enotria&Coe

‘A ripe, fruit-forward style, with a good backbone of new oak, a silky mouthfeel, and good length,’ said Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia, echoing other judges’ sentiments as this took its place on the Gold podium. Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles, meanwhile, enjoyed ‘a fruity and spicy nose, leading to a balanced palate’, while team leader Laura Rhys MS declared it ‘a food wine for certain’, and suggested a charcoal-roasted T-bone steak.

£23.74 Noel Young Wines, Alexander Wines, H2Vin

‘Juicy concentration and smooth, ripe tannins,’ began Adam Michocki of Glasshouse in his praise of this Merlot, going on to find ‘red fruit character, like cranberries, strawberries, blueberries and redcurrants’, while team leader Laurent Richet MS appreciated its ‘lovely purity and vibrant acidity’.

£23.41 Matthew Clark

‘Lovely fruit balanced by tannin and acidity,’ began team leader Laurent Richet MS in his praise of this Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blend, while Adam Michocki of Glasshouse went on to describe it as ‘smooth and juicy, with redcurrants and red cherries, and a toasty note, too’.

£10.00 Carte-du-Vin

‘Chocolate laced with red and black fruits,’ began Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants, going on to describe a wine with ‘good structure, lots of ripe fruit, and a lovely finish – and age worthy, too’. Glasshouse’s Adam Michocki agreed, describing this as ‘complex, and a lovely wine for food’.

£11.89 Distell Europe

This was ‘toasty, with some black cherry, cassis and chocolate’, according to Adam Michocki of Glasshouse, while Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants found ‘plum and blackberry fruit, as well as some spice, and a firm, muscular tannic structure, yet balanced, with a long, intense finish’.

£16.03 Distell Europe

‘A classy wine,’ was team leader Angela Reddin’s take on this Cabernet, finding ‘a classic cedary cigar box nose, with sweet oak – a superb style, and ready now’, while Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles found it ‘vibrant and fresh, with tobacco and leather notes’.

£23.79 Bibendum

‘Delicious,’ began team leader Angela Reddin, before going on to describe a Cabernet Sauvignon with ‘an open, vibrant, fruity nose, with hedgerow and stone fruits, leading to a beautifully clean, fresh and polished palate, culminating in a delightful finish’.

£19.17 Bibendum

Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants found this wine to be ‘herbaceous and smoky, with dark fruits and intense oak’, while Adam Michocki of Glasshouse described ‘black cherry and cassis notes, as well as some toast and vanilla’, too.

£7.19 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘Great balance and tannin structure,’ began team leader Laurent Richet MS, who thought this was like ‘cranberry juice with blackberry cordial, leading to a smoky finish’. Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants, meanwhile, appreciated its ‘power, structure and concentration of fruit’.

£9.74 Hatch Mansfield

‘A great nose, leading to good acidity and a soft, nice texture,’ said Janusz Pawel Sasiadek of Bottles & Battles of this Cabernet-based blend, going on to find ‘red fruits, spiciness and chocolate notes, with good length and finish’.

£15.48 Hard To Find Wines

‘A fruit-forward wine with prune notes, as well as some vanilla and chocolate,’ said team leader Laurent Richet MS, while Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants appreciated ‘gentle oak and a fine nose of cassis’, which led to ‘more cassis and cranberry on the palate, with good concentration and lovely structure’.

£11.88 Bibendum , Walker & Wodehouse Wines

Team leader Angela Reddin found ‘wet sand aromas, then dark fruits, leading to slightly puckering tannins’, while Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia enjoyed ‘savoury notes and bell peppers on the nose, leading to more of the same on the palate, with subtle oak nuances’.

£10.76 Enotria&Coe

£13.03 Matthew Clark

£22.15 Eurowines

£7.07 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£20.12 Hatch Mansfield

£12.32 Enotria&Coe

£22.28 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£27.50 Swig Wines

This Gold medal-winning Californian Merlot opened with ‘ripe black fruits and black pepper spice’, according to team leader Laura Rhys MS, who went on to describe a ‘bold and juicy palate, with savoury, herbaceous notes’. ‘Lots of personality, with pepper and leather, as well as some cardamom notes,’ added Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston. ‘A wine that’s balanced, and very food friendly,’ concluded Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte.

£26.50 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘A great value Californian red, with all of its components in place, and showing good typicity, too,’ commented Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms as this took its place on the Gold podium. ‘Herbal and currant notes’ kicked things off for Melody Wong of Ten Trinity Square Private Club, and she went on to describe a wine that was ‘fresh and juicy, with a touch of mushroom, and with smooth tannins, too’.

£9.73 Berkmann Wine Cellars

This substantial Cabernet-dominated blend was destined for Gold, according to our judges. ‘A big, bold wine with ripe, black fruit and a smoky, meaty note, too,’ began Eva Krenkova of Restaurant Sat Bains, while Vinoteca’s Charlie Young found ‘fresh, dark berry fruit with a herbal lift, leading to good acidity and chunky tannins with good persistence’. Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm, meanwhile, found it ‘big and muscular, with ripe, concentrated fruit – and very moreish’.

£25.17 Daniel Lambert Wines

Team leader Jade Koch found this Cabernet Sauvignon to have ‘sweet, plump, ripe fruit’, adding that it had ‘well-balanced acidity and tannins’. ‘Floral, fruity and balanced in every respect,’ confirmed Gabriele Galuppo of Theo Randall at the InterContinental.

£15.80 Bibendum

‘Juicy dark fruits, as well as blueberries and red cherries,’ began team leader Laura Rhys MS in her description of this fruity Cabernet Sauvignon, going on to find ‘chocolate notes as well as sweet spice, accompanied by ripe, rounded tannins’.

£30.34 Jascots Wine Merchants

Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm had nothing but praise for this Californian, saying: ‘A generous wine on both the nose and palate, with seductive tannins mingling with ripe, red fruit, and joined by beef jerky and American oak notes, too. Love it!’

£30.61 Top Selection Ltd

Team leader Tom Forrest described this as having ‘lean and mineral aromas, with cherry and raspberry fruit, leading to lean fruit and some spice on the palate, with medium tannins’. ‘An age worthy wine with lots to give,’ summarised Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm.

£30.00 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘A wine that is full of plummy fruit and soft tannins,’ began team leader Jade Koch, with Yohann Pinol of Wiltons finding it ‘rich and well structured, with a touch of sweetness towards the finish’. ‘Well integrated and juicy,’ added Aurel Istrate of The Connaught.

£10.28 E. &J. Gallo Winery

‘Warm, ripe fruit aromas to start – more dark fruit than red berries – as well as cedar and spice, with a hint of toasty smoke. The palate is creamy, with some pepper and ripe, juicy dark cherry, as well as some dark chocolate,’ described team leader Tom Forrest.

£22.05 E. &J. Gallo Winery

‘A lovely nose, with appealing sweet spice like cinnamon and cloves, together with ripe fruit,’ began Jose Luis Hernandez of Hakkasan Hanway Place, adding that the palate was ‘fresh and intense, with a lot of fruit, nice tannins and good length’.

£23.05 Bibendum

A wine that revealed ‘subtle nuances on the nose of blackberries, herbs and cashew, with a supple palate that lasts’, began Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia, with team leader Angela Reddin finding it ‘slow to release but great presence, with tons of fruit, oak and sass’.

£44.84 Enotria&Coe, The Wine Treasury

‘An intense wine,’ began Davide Dall’Amico of Royal Automobile Club, going on to describe a wine that was ‘ripe and oaky, with hints of smoke, as well as a eucalyptus note towards the finish. A well-integrated wine, with decent length.’

£10.16 Matthew Clark

£29.02 Matthew Clark

£20.68 Jascots Wine Merchants

£6.50 Boutinot

£28.82 Boutinot

£12.74 E. &J. Gallo Winery

‘A very Argentine nose, with blackcurrant and some violets, leading to a complex, long finish,’ began team leader Jade Koch, adding praise for its ‘freshness, good weight and length’, while Gabriele Galuppo of Theo Randall at the InterContinental enjoyed ‘rich complexity of fruit, with a smoky, toasty note, too’.

£28.51 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Easy to drink’ was the way Gabriele Galuppo of Theo Randall at the InterContinental described this red blend, while Yohann Pinol of Wiltons added that he found it ‘well structured, with silky tannins and complexity, and ripe red berry flavours’.

£7.49 The Drinks Project

‘A rich and opulent wine, with some nice red berry aromas, and a good finish,’ thought Yohann Pinol of Wiltons, while team leader Jade Koch described it as ‘oily and waxy, not to mention savoury, and quite drying, too’.

£10.70 Boutinot

£11.20 Enotria&Coe, The Wine Treasury

With both ‘richness and freshness’, this Colchagua Cab took Gold for its ‘tobaccco, plums and spicy, fresh fruit’, according to The Harrow at Little Bedwyn’s Sue Jones, while team leader Angela Reddin appreciated its ‘cassis and herbs on the nose, with bags of fruit on the palate and a good, lengthy finish’. Le Cordon Bleu London’s Matthieu Longuère MS, meanwhile, enjoyed its ‘chocolate and blackcurrant’ aromas, and found the palate ‘ripe and juicy, with some flinty notes, too’.

£6.70 Molson Coors

This was ‘earthy, with some bright red and black currant notes’, said Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, adding that this led to a ‘silky, easy-drinking structure’, making this a ‘great value’ wine, and a good by-the-glass option. Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms found it to be ‘balanced throughout, with ripe, smooth tannins’.

£7.33 Matthew Clark

‘Olive and black cherries’ kicked things off here for The Don’s Carlos Ferreira, who went on to describe notes of ‘leather, tobacco and spicy oak’, concluding that this was ‘well balanced, with a long, clean finish’.

£11.20 VIA Wines

This had, according to Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club, ‘elegant aromas of plum and sweet spices, along with some fresh tobacco leaves’, with Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent adding: ‘Ripe black fruit, red pepper, and leather, as well as some balanced tannins.’

£10.69 Castelnau Wine Agencies

‘Black fruits and spice,’ began The Don’s Carlos Ferreira of this Chilean red, with Arletta Mala of Glasshouse identifying ‘juicy blackcurrants and eucalyptus’ and a ‘full body’. ‘Rich, fruity and complex – a well-knitted blend,’ summed up team leader Martin Lam.

£13.80 Carson Wines

‘Vanilla and jammy black fruit’ on the nose, according to Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms, led to a palate with ‘smooth tannins and well-integrated fruit, with some smoke lingering on the finish’. Team leader Lionel Periner further identified ‘cacao and coffee bean’ notes.

£8.40 CellarVino

Team leader Lionel Periner described an interesting nose of ‘red fruit, cooked berries, tomato leaves and black pepper’, with a ‘full body, spicy finish and some dry tannins’. ‘Earthy and meaty, with some restrained power,’ thought Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason, describing ‘tobacco and liquorice notes’.

£7.53 VIA Wines

‘Fresh and balanced,’ began team leader Martin Lam, who appreciated this wine’s ‘primary fruit flavours’, while Tatiana Mann of The Vine Eno Gastro Pub described an ‘aromatic and floral nose, leading to black cherry and oak’ on the palate.

£7.53 VIA Wines

Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent thought this had ‘a lot of potential’, describing notes of ‘rich black fruit and chocolate cake, as well as some spice notes’, and finding ‘good structure and firm tannins’. ‘Leafy, fragrant and fresh,’ concluded team leader Nigel Lister.

£20.95 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

This had ‘dark fruit and a burnt caramel note’, according to team leader Lionel Periner, who appreciated its ‘smooth tannins and spice on the finish’. ‘Pleasant black fruit on the palate’, thought Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms, made this, ‘for the price, a good house wine option’.

£4.93 Kingsland

£9.89 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£7.87 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£10.49 Liberty Wines

£9.92 Davy's Wine Merchants

£13.50 Cockburn & Campbell

£6.20 Boutinot

£6.65 Fuller's

£8.55 Matthew Clark

£21.41 D&V Wines

A ‘very fruit-forward’ style, said Cristian Sánchez of Hotel du Vin Cambridge, clearly enjoying its ‘aromas of blackcurrant, blackberries, capsicum, mint and green bell peppers with hints of black pepper and liquorice, high velvety tannins but refreshing acidity, too, and a long finish’.

£11.51 Bibendum

Mattia Mazzi of Lutyens Bar & Restaurants found this ‘intense and intriguing’ on the nose, with ‘black fruit, eucalyptus all the way, notes of dill, coconut, graphite and capsicum’, followed by ‘a succulent palate, plenty of concentration but not at the expense of freshness, firm ripe tannins and complexity’, concluding that it was ‘dark and serious’.

£28.99 Enotria&Coe

‘Plush and smooth,’ began Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm as this earned itself a well-deserved Gold, going on to describe it as ‘meaty, with lovely structure and dark, ripe fruit’. ‘Very fleshy and full-bodied, showing capsicum notes on an intense palate with full structure,’ confirmed team leader Andrea Briccarello, while Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant recommended pairing its ‘smoky, toasty and floral notes’ with ‘rich and oily dishes – venison or beef’.

£15.15 Eurowines

As this was elevated to Gold amidst praise from our judges, impressed team leader Angela Reddin admired its ‘smoky bonfire nose, cranberry and briar, with very autumnal fruit flavours, too’, with Daria Ershova of Ten Green Bottles enjoying its ‘bramble fruit, savoury meaty nose, soft tannins and fresh acidity, making it a food-friendly choice’. Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia added praise for its ‘nuances of herbaceousness and lovely mocha on a structured palate’.

£7.73 Enotria&Coe

Winning a well-deserved Gold to go with Siegel Family Wines’ collection of medals, this Carmenère was ‘classic in style’ according to Suave Wine’s Joseph Lunn, who described ‘dark fruit and balanced hedgerow notes, and a grippy palate with good length’. Team leader Andrea Briccarello enjoyed its ‘earthy beetroot with red fruit aromas, jammy notes on the palate with a refreshing finish’, while team leader Martin Lam thought its ‘lifted elderberry and spice aromas’ and ‘graphite, red fruits, spice and coffee’ notes were crying out for a steak.

£9.44 Carson Wines

‘Bold and rich on the nose with red and black berries, tobacco leaf and green tea,’ found team leader Angela Reddin, enjoying its ‘dark berries in the mouth with complex notes of minerals’, adding up to a ‘very complete’ wine.

£11.97 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘Big, with rustic, farmyard notes on the nose, juicy and complex on the mid-palate,’ began team leader Andrea Briccarello, while Euan McColm of Beaverbrook found it ‘herbal, with a touch of rosemary, damson and blueberry – a wine with lots of gusto, and one to drink with pizza’.

£10.69 Castelnau Wine Agencies

‘Looking for balance rather than power,’ felt Le Coedon Bleu London’s Matthieu Longuère MS, with its ‘spicy and vegetal, bramble fruit nose, quite juicy and fresh palate’. ‘Smoky, autumnal aromas with hedgerow fruits and damp earth lead to a very expressive palate, smooth with lovely acid balance,’ added team leader Angela Reddin.

£9.01 Jascots Wine Merchants

An ‘easy-drinking, soft style’, said Le Cordon Bleu London’s Matthieu Longuère MS, showing ‘green coffee, blue plum, spicy notes and cocoa on the nose, then a full-bodied and concentrated palate’, with The Don’s Carlos Ferreira also noting ‘black cherry and slightly spicy character, very good for the price’.

£5.80 Fuller's

Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS enjoyed this wine’s ‘earthy prune, blueberry and tomato aromas with floral notes, then sweet-fruited, ripe delivery with great drive and balance on the mid-palate, lots of primary fruit and soft tannins on the finish’.

£13.80 Carson Wines

£10.35 EWGA

£6.65 Fuller's

£7.53 VIA Wines

£7.66 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£8.04 Ellis of Richmond

£7.00 Davy's Wine Merchants

£14.87 Viña I Wines SpA

£7.93 D&V Wines

Ticking all the boxes for team leader Tom Forrest, and picking up a Gold medal in the process, this noteworthy Chardonnay showed ‘creamy vanilla oak and some stone fruit and orange aromas, with canteloupe melon and peach flavours on the palate balancing the oak in a rich and buttery style, with great balance and length’. Team leader Angela Reddin appreciated additional notes of ‘lemon posset, peach melba and crème brûlée, with some savoury notes, too’, and thought it had a ‘bright and fresh palate with clever oak use and a long, elegant finish’.

£17.89 Bibendum

With its ‘chalky, floral, nutty’ aromas, this worthy Gold medal recipient was ‘elegant, with a charming delivery, freshness and drive’, began Chris Delalonde MS of Bleeding Heart Group, while Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant admired its ‘beautiful nose that’s quite complex, buttery and ripe with apple and pear fruit’, further describing ‘a lovely creamy texture on the palate that is very well complemented by freshness, and a good option for cod or sea bass’.

£13.25 Davy's Wine Merchants

‘Fruity and mineral on the nose, and a little flinty with hints of gingerbread,’ began Simone Fadda of Roka Aldwych in praise of this Gold medal Chardonnay, also noting that it was ‘fresh and citrusy with grapefruit zest on the palate’, while Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS enjoyed its ‘chalk, yeast, apple and pear aromas with oak spices, complex expression on a dense, mineral palate with salty touches’ that will develop further with time.

£19.12 Liberty Wines

There was plenty of fruit and personality in this clear candidate for Gold, with team leader Nigel Lister noting ‘quince, pineapple, coconut and vanilla, and an exotically rich and creamy texture coupled with banana freshness and lees character’, while Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent picked up ‘nectarine intensity, vanilla, beeswax and peachy white chocolate cake’. Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club, meanwhile, enjoyed ‘fresh almond notes with crisp minerality, crispy apples and complex oak on the finish’.

£13.29 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

It was an impressed judging panel that elevated this Chardonnay to Gold, with its ‘struck match, smoky bacon nose, tahini and rich yellow orchard fruits, sappy acidity and elegance’, as team leader Nigel Lister put it, also noting that it was ‘young, but with great potential’. Meanwhile Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent found it ‘immensely intense, with ripe white fruits and botanicals, notes of dried banana, avocado and freshly baked cake, and with buttery notes and a good, elegant finish’.

£28.31 Mentzendorff & Co

Standing out for its ‘very smoky nose and complex palate’, this showed ‘intense, mouthwatering lime jelly on the palate, powerful richness with a long and pungent finish’, according to team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, with Woodhead 17’s James Fryer adding: ‘Smells like salted popcorn, with an earthy character on the palate, vanilla and gunpowder notes, too.’

£22.21 Matthew Clark

Simone Fadda of Roka Aldwych found ‘apple, quince and pear aromas with a honeysuckle undernote’, and Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant noted a ‘lovely floral component, camomile very present with oily texture on the palate, well balanced by nice freshness’, recommending a match with ‘light fish dishes such as mackerel’.

£10.25 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Team leader Tom Forrest enjoyed this Chardonnay’s ‘toasty oak aromas, melon and pineapple fruit with some mango, more toasted oak on the palate but freshness shining through’, with Antóin UáRuairc of UK Midland Sommelier Ltd finding it ‘intense, opening up well with very good length’.

£10.80 Great Wine Estates

This was a firm favourite with Euan McColm of Beaverbrook, who liked its ‘grapefruit and gingernut biscuit aromas, supple and lively palate with well-integrated oak and lively, spicy, smoky finish’, while James Fryer of Woodhead 17 found a ‘slightly leesy, banana nose, notes of wheat and riper peach flesh in a broad style, some tautness and crunch’.

£12.58 CAPE BARREN WINES

‘Exciting and vibrant, great juice with citrus dinginess,’ began team leader Andrea Briccarello, with Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS finding ‘confit lemon, apple and tangerine, salty hints and oak on the nose, an unctuous and intense mid-palate, lifted by great acidity’.

£26.26 Enotria&Coe

Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte found this ‘seductive if not a bit hedonistic, yet balanced’, full of ‘peaches and cream with fresh acids and loads of toasty oak’. ‘Very good aftertaste and mouthfeel,’ added Antóin UáRuairc of UK Midland Sommelier Ltd.

£12.74 Enotria&Coe

‘Rich and concentrated, with a wide range of white fruit flavours, vanilla and buttery notes,’ began Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent, while Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club picked up on its ‘citrus lemon notes, herbal aromas, beautiful toast notes and complex, fresh finish’.

£63.48 Stefano Lubiana Wines

Team leader Nigel Lister enjoyed this wine’s ‘delicious, balanced, mouthwatering honeydew melon with pear and white flowers’, while Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club picked up ‘light green pea and herbal notes, Cox apple and baked fruit with complexity on the finish’.

£10.47 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Team leader Nigel Lister noted ‘fresh-cut pear aromas and just a touch of oak spice, then bright acidity and good texture on the palate’, finding this a ‘good value option, with juicy acidity and a fresh finish’.

£7.19 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£32.80 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£16.60 Bibendum

£5.79 LWC Drinks Ltd (Merchant and Shippers)

£13.82 Matthew Clark

£9.99 Bibendum

£15.50 Great Wine Estates

£13.27 Bibendum