As this earned itself a well-deserved Gold, Paola Giraldo of Wiltons had praise for its ‘elegant nose and delicate aromas, leading to intense spices and ripe fruits on the palate, with great length’, while James Fryer of Woodhead 17 appreciated notes of ‘coffee, red earth and leather, along with dried black fruits and grippy tannins’. Further noting ‘dense dark berry fruits, as well as chocolate and liquorice’, team leader Nigel Lister added: ‘Pappardelle with wild boar ragu, anyone?’

£13.10 Boutinot

For Valentin Radosav of Gymkhana Restaurant, this Gold-worthy Gran Selezione was ‘ripe and expressive, with grippy tannins, cherries, sweet cardamom spice and vanilla’. Team leader Andres Ituarte thought it ‘bright, pretty and elegant, as well as mineral and earthy, with oaky, spicy notes’, while Raphael Thierry of Street XO appreciated its ‘good fruit concentration, with redcurrants and strawberries, as well as well-integrated oak, with tobacco, mocha and cinnamon, and a long, fresh finish’.

£29.15 Boutinot

As this took its place on the Gold podium, The Royal Automobile Club’s Michael Fiducia expressed appreciation of its ‘very concentrated morello cherries and subtle spices, with a smooth, yet softly structured palate that will age well’, while James Fryer of Woodhead 17 enjoyed notes of ‘sap and varnish, with black fruits and milk chocolate, too’. Finding it ‘rich and balanced’, Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse thought it would be ideal to serve alongside ‘liver and bacon with sautéed apples’.

£25.06 Bibendum

This ‘rich and intense’ Chianti Classico Riserva, according to Paola Giraldo of Wiltons, was clearly a candidate for Gold, with team leader Laura Rhys MS describing it as ‘perfumed and floral’, with ‘black cherries and cherry stone notes, and good tannic structure’, while Chiara Sieni of Bottles Group found it ‘very elegant, with some liquorice and woody notes’. An ‘amazingly silky texture, with elegant tannins and dark fruit flavours’ made this a good accompaniment for ‘winter dishes’, thought team leader Lionel Periner.

£17.00 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

Amid generous praise from our judges, this was awarded not only a Gold medal but a Food Match award, too, with team leader Martin Lam approving of its ‘proper Chianti profile, with pencil shavings and a cherry-fruit nose, more sour cherry on the palate, and a savoury finish’. Raphael Thierry of Street XO, meanwhile, was impressed by its ‘tannic structure balanced by good freshness, and some redcurrant, mocha and tobacco notes’.

£9.22 Vinexus Ltd

This Chianti had much to commend it, with team leader Jan Konetzki finding ‘barnyard notes with game and leather’ among the ‘red and black cherry fruit’. He described the palate as ‘dry and grippy with good length’ and thought ‘osso bucco would be a good match’.

£8.15 Boutinot

‘Nice, elegant nose,’ said Paola Giraldo of Wiltons, adding: ‘It’s spiced, with red plum flavours; there’s fairly high tannins, but it’s elegant, with nice, long length. This would be really good with steak.’

£9.50 Boutinot

This aromatic wine brought notes of ‘clove, cinnamon, vanilla and honeycomb’ to the nose of team leader Jan Konetzki, while for Claire Love of Loves Consultancy there was ‘concentrated cherry note’ and ‘a morello cherry palate with a thyme and sage finish’.

£13.73 Fattoria Villa Saletta Società Agricola srl

‘This has a lifted, perfumed nose of cherry pie and a nicely mineral, crunchy palate,’ said Michael Fiducia of The Royal Automobile Club. ‘It’s rich, with a lot character,’ added Paola Giraldo of Wiltons.

£21.18 Bibendum

‘This is a great example of the 2015 vintage,’ said Alan Bednarski of Texture, adding: ‘Along with the good, ripe, stewed red cherry and strawberry fruit, there are notes of cherry in chocolate and ripe red currants with tarry balsamic notes; plus great aromatics with orange zest, violet and rose.’

£33.15 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

For Raphael Thierry of Street XO this wine brought ‘an aromatic umami note of stewed tomato peel; there are juicy tannins and a long refreshing finish, where the fruit is peppered with complex notes of cinnamon and mocha’.

£15.84 Bibendum

‘Nice forest fruits, with dark chocolate, black pepper and tobacco,’ said Markus Dilger of Dilger Sommelier Selection, adding: ‘It’s juicy, with sweet tannins and fine use of oak, plus there’s good balance and length.’

£15.70 Castello Vicchiomaggio

‘Very ripe dark and red cherry fruit with violet, clove and mocha aromatics,’ said team leader Jan Konetzki, while Claire Love of Loves Consultancy thought it had ‘great concentration of sour cherry with herbal notes and good texture’.

£25.65 Eurowines

‘A lovely nose,’ said Paola Giraldo of Wiltons, ‘there’s rich plums, spice with dried herbs and lots of character.’

£8.85 Boutinot

For Claire Love of Loves Consultancy this brought hints of ‘cherries and tea leaves to the nose’, and had a ‘fresh, creamy, juicy character with gentle fruit’.

£6.30 Majestic Commercial

‘Very animal aromatics,’ thought The Royal Automobile Club’s Michael Fiducia, ‘and the smell of old leather armchairs’. ‘It’s certainly rich, with lots of character,’ added Paola Giraldo of Wiltons.

£24.58 Enotria&Coe

Nicely aromatic, this Chianti brought ‘notes of violets, cinnamon, clove and dark chocolate’ to team leader Jan Konetzki, with a ‘good dry finish’.

£9.99 Vinexus Ltd

‘This could work well served by the glass,’ thought Paola Giraldo of Wiltons, adding: ‘It’s aromatic, with ripe red fruit and sour cherry, rich tannins and notes of liquorice.’

£8.45 Molson Coors, Treasury Wine Estates

For Texture’s Alan Bednarski ‘this medium-bodied wine has good black cherry fruit with fresh floral notes and good concentration’.

£9.16 Matthew Clark

Team leader Jan Konetzki found this wine to have ‘fresh and very ripe dark cherry fruit with a dry, oak-spiced, herbaceous finish and good acidity’.

£15.44 Matthew Clark

‘This is well balanced and earthy, cooked red fruits, plum, chocolate and spice and leather; plus, there’s smooth tannins and a decent finish.’

£15.70 Matthew Clark

£6.95 Boutinot

£26.78 La Sala

£31.27 Liberty Wines

£17.09 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£14.58 Vinexus Ltd

£12.00 Matthew Clark

£25.26 Matthew Clark