It was a savoury component, as well as some food-friendly richness on the palate that earned this the Gold podium. Team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW found it ‘floral, vibrant and aromatic, with an oily mid-palate and a touch of bitterness on the finish’, while Vinoteca’s Charlie Young praised ‘savoury, rich aromas, and a nice, punchy freshness that carries the weight of the wine’. Richard Brooks of Caroline Catering thought that ‘as an accompaniment to fish or shellfish, this could be a real cracker’.

£13.77 Enotria&Coe

‘Bring on the Dover sole,’ said WineEd’s Matthew Cocks, going on to describe this Gold medal and Food Match Trophy winner’s ‘saline notes, as well as lime and green apple, with preserved lemon, too – all with vibrant acidity’. Team leader Martin Lam thought this was ‘ripe, concentrated, elegant but serious and well made’, while Jacopo Armenio of Vinarius found it ‘medium bodied and creamy, long on the palate with good balance’.

£11.54 Eurowines

This Gold medal Grillo represented ‘very good value’ for FJB Hotels’ Charles Van Wyk, who enjoyed its ‘clean, tropical and stone fruit notes, particularly peach and melon’, with team leader Annette Scarfe MW saying: ‘Lovely, fresh, easy-drinking style, unoaked and precise.’ For WineEd’s Matthew Cocks, ‘preserved lemon, peach nectar and almond nougat’ made this ‘well suited to antipasti’, while Wright Brothers’ Ivan Ruiz wanted to see it paired with seafood pasta.

£6.50 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘Reductive, but in the good way,’ Piotr Artur Tomaszewski of Buddha Bar mused, finding: ‘Lemon and lime, jasmine and camomile teas with nutty and farmyard notes, too. Plenty of oak character adds further dimension.’

£17.57 Enotria&Coe

Andre Luis Martins of the Cavalry & Guards Club was keen on its ‘gentle lychee aromas with herbal characters, then light tangerine fruit on the palate with more herbs and an elegant finish’. ‘Good with truffle risotto,’ added Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse.

£10.11 Enotria&Coe

Federico Forte of Plateau found this ‘good on the palate and quite refreshing, with unripe apricot notes and white melon’, while for team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW it was: ‘Individual, vividly flavoured and memorable, with pithy grapefruit style and a long, long finish.’

£28.37 Berkmann Wine Cellars

A ‘vividly aromatic’ style for team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, who noted ‘jasmine and peaches, a full-bodied palate with a tang of limes and a long finish’, while Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse found it ‘very bouncy’.

£14.35 Berkmann Wine Cellars

A more aromatic style, said Plateau’s Federico Forte, with its ‘peach and rose aromas, very delicate and elegant with acacia tree notes, followed by a medium-length palate, balanced by nice acidity and melon fruit’.

£9.60 VinumTerra

Richard Brooks of Caroline Catering enjoyed a ‘riper, richer mouthful of fruit with some depth, and it grows and grows on the palate’, concluding: ‘Lovely wine!’ And Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse suggested its ‘ginger tangerine, summery aftertaste would be great with a vitello tonnato’.

£12.10 Eurowines

Would make a ‘good all-rounder’, said team leader Martin Lam, with its ‘ripe stone fruit nose and juicy fruit palate’, and Jacopo Armenio of Vinarius highlighted its ‘fleshy fruits and medium-bodied, floral character’.

£10.35 Eurowines

‘Very clean and fresh, showing some notes of eucalyptus on the palate, which has great depth,’ said Michael Moore of The London Cookhouse, suggesting: ‘Food match with salmon, asparagus and smoked mozzarella.’ ‘Very pleasant on its own, but would go with a range of salads and chicken dishes,’ said Richard Brooks of Caroline Catering.

£6.70 Bibendum

‘Fleshy style with lots of stone fruit,’ began team leader Martin Lam, with Jacopo Armenio of Vinarius adding: ‘Crisp but intense, with peach and apricot, medium bodied and slightly creamy in texture.’

£7.65 Boutinot

Team leader Annette Scarfe MW highlighted ‘greengage with a slight spritz and attractive lemon zest’, while Hakkasan Group’s Olivier Gasselin noted ‘bitter-sweet fruit, grassy and smoky yet clean and minerally too’.

£10.11 Enotria&Coe

Giancarlo Cuccuru of The Ned Hotel enjoyed its ‘rounded peachy fruit and good body’, while Charles Pashby-Taylor of Dabbous highlighted its ‘fleshy fruit, good balance and nice acidity’, and team leader Martin Lam summed it up as: ‘Full of white floral notes, and very good indeed.’

£9.96 Ester Wines

‘Aromas of apricot and slightly bruised green apple,’ began Charles Van Wyk of FJB Hotels, adding: ‘Has a fantastic, coating mouthfeel with slightly waxy notes on the palate, but finishes with vibrant acidity.’

£11.29 Eurowines

Our judges found classic notes of ripe but light and fresh citrus fruits with intermingling layers of herbs and gentle floral touches, supported by a creamy richness of texture, making it ideal for calamari and mussels or lighter pasta dishes.

£12.62 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘This is made for the summer!’ said an enthused Giancarlo Cuccuru of The Ned Hotel, noting its ‘lemon fruit and crisp, refreshing character’, while Jacopo Armenio of Vinarius found it ‘mineral with clean fruit flavours of pear and citrus, and a creamy feel’.

£7.18 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£9.45 Enotria&Coe

£8.99 Boutinot

£11.89 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£14.00 VinumTerra