‘A steak-and-mash wine,’ began Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason in his praise of this Gold winner, going on to describe a wine that was ‘punchy and elegant, with good structure and weight, and notes of plums, cherries, red apples and some sweet spice’. ‘Black fruit pastilles on the nose, black cherry and a juicy, balanced mid-palate,’ added team leader Nigel Lister, with Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club finding ‘fresh cassis and violet aromas, plum-spice and lighter green notes’.

£12.49 House of Townend

The judges thought this Gold Lister had a fresh and uncomplicated style that epitomised the region, summed up by Woodhead 17’s James Fryer as ‘spritzy and prickly, showing lemon rind fruit character balanced by flashy acids, and finishing salty’. ‘Green apple notes, and good concentration that would go well with food,’ thought Simon Cassina of Winexponent, adding that this would be just as well suited to being ‘an aperitif, by the glass’.

£9.95 Liberty Wines

‘Some development here,’ said Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club, noting ‘dark cherry aromas with light gamey characters, unripe plum with gentle tomato leaf notes and touches of fresh tobacco’, while team leader Nigel Lister picked up ‘liquorice notes, tomato and beetroot with spiced cherry’.

£8.70 Boutinot

This was ‘a good example of Txacoli for people who want to step into this grape’, said Adam Michocki of Glasshouse, highlighting its ‘lemony, crunchy yellow apple, pear, pomelo and melon ripe fruit character, good smooth length and nice minerality’.

£9.90 Boutinot

Adam Michocki of Glasshouse found plenty to like in this wine, with its ‘pronounced intensity of lime, lemon, peach and ripe green apple, with melon and floral complexity of honeysuckle, acacia and white blossom, juicy concentration and mineral’, concluding it was ‘excellent to pair with seafood, with a prolonged finish’.

£17.33 Boutinot

Full of rich red fruits and some earthy complexity, our judging panel found, revealing raspberry and plum fruit, notes of fresh tobacco leaf and baking spices with jammy and peppery notes on the finish, with good elegance and balance, too.

£10.04 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

A ‘slightly restrained style but showing elegance’, thought Sumita Sarma of Sumilier, who found it ‘dry, with outstanding acidity, revealing apricot, ripe lemon and tropical expression’, while Woodhead 17’s James Fryer highlighted ‘lemon pith, broad acids and a herbaceous, taut finish’.

£10.83 House of Townend

Team leader Nigel Lister highlighted a ‘lovely nose of crushed red fruits and stewed blackcurrants’, and Richard Cavagin-Carey of The Harwood Arms found ‘decent balance all round and nice grip, with a hint of greenness’.

£10.83 House of Townend

‘A broad and generous style of wine,’ began Sumilier’s Sumita Sarma, with its ‘dry, crisp, ripe lemon and apricot, butteriness and creamy expression with underlying racy acidity, hints of coconut and strong toast and smoke characters on the finish’.

£8.83 Davy's Wine Merchants

Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent enjoyed this wine’s ‘big black fruits, meaty aromas with hints of baking cake, full body and balance, with loads of spice, cooked fruit and rounded tannins on the palate’. ‘Lovely cinder toffee and cassis through the palate and charry toast on the finish,’ added team leader Nigel Lister.

£13.68 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

Sumilier’s Sumita Sarma praised the ‘Chablis style’ of this wine, noting the ‘good fruit concentration and lees giving it a rounded style’, and picking up on its ‘fresh, lemon-zesty acidity, vibrant style of mango sorbet fruit, making a great, refreshing summer wine that would pair well with heavier grilled fish’.

£14.94 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£9.08 Davy's Wine Merchants

£16.80 Bodegas Príncipe de Viana

£6.22 Boutinot

£9.88 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£10.86 Matthew Clark

£16.93 Txakoli Gaintza S.L.