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

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 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

‘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

‘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

‘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

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

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

‘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

‘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

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

‘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)

‘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

£6.55 Majestic Commercial

£9.35 Matthew Clark

£12.35 Liberty Wines

£7.35 Eurowines

£7.45 Eurowines

£7.95 Boutinot

£7.35 Davy's Wine Merchants

£6.25 Molson Coors