It was ‘elegance, with depth, balance of fruit, spice and weight’ that earned this its Gold medal, according to The Harrow at Little Bedwyn’s Sue Jones, who further described it as ‘savoury and meaty’, with team leader Martin Lam also noting that the ‘palate is big, but really good, with fresh acidity bringing balance’. ‘A rich and complex wine,’ added The Mount Vineyard’s Andrea Carozzo, with its ‘toffee, liquorice and coffee on the palate, with a long finish’.

£16.43 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Seductive and luscious, a modern and ageworthy, elegant style,’ began an impressed Sumita Sarma of Sumilier as this earned itself a well-deserved Gold, finding plenty going on: ‘Ripe plums, forest floor and black fruit with blueberry, mint, vanilla, eucalyptus, ripe but fine-grained tannins, impressive acidity and balance.’ Typing Room’s Alex Pitt found it ‘very elegant, with plenty of complexity and freshness, with salty, peppered-salami nuances, as well as some dried herbs’.

£27.58 Davy's Wine Merchants

This great-value Gold had ‘plum, raspberry, mocha and spice notes’, according to team leader Angela Reddin, who went on to describe ‘some barbecue smokiness on a raspberry palate’, while Sumita Sarma of Sumilier found ‘stewed plums in good typical style, with some impressive fruit intensity backed by vanilla, toast and smoke characters, and leading to polished ripe tannins with a spicy finish’, adding that it would be a ‘good crowd-pleaser with roast lamb’.

£6.59 LWC Drinks Ltd (Merchant and Shippers)

This Shiraz/Viognier easily earned its place on the Gold List with an appealing nose of ‘smoke and ripe black fruit’ followed by a ‘lightly jammy palate with notes of vanilla, clove and cinnamon spice’, said team leader Tom Forrest. The Connaught’s Aurel Istrate enjoyed its ‘strawberry/cherry character and smooth tannins’, and with its ‘blackberry, coffee and black pepper on the palate’, according to Andrea Carozzo of The Mount Vineyard, this made an excellent match for lamb dishes.

£11.74 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Taking Gold in no small part for its ‘blend of warmth and generosity on the nose’, this was ‘a rich, big wine with beautiful leafy undertones’, praised Tatiana Mann of The Vine Eno Gastro Pub, while The Don’s Carlos Ferreira picked up ‘cigar, leather, chocolate and spicy black olives on the palate’, too. ‘A high concentration of fruit on the palate’ sealed the deal for Three Chimneys Restaurant’s Petri Pentikainen, who found additional notes of ‘liquorice, rosemary and black pepper, as well as a herbal character’.

£16.20 Liberty Wines

Judges had nothing but praise for this Gold medallist. Royal Automobile Club’s Davide Dall’Amico was keen on its ‘fresh crushed black and Morello cherry with minty notes on the nose’ leading to a palate that was ‘intense and packed with flavour, with oak spices that don’t overwhelm the fruit, good tannins and acidity to balance the warmth’. Woodhead 17’s James Fryer thought it was ‘big and fun’, with ‘black fruit and pepper, as well as oak and a bacon note on the palate’.

£11.70 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

As this took its rightful place on the Gold podium, Street XO’s Raphael Thierry described a ‘juicy wine displaying plum, raspberry and dried herbs with a mouthwatering finish’, with team leader Jade Koch also noting ‘savoury leather, tobacco, chewy bloody red fruits and a warming finish’. ‘Really overdelivers on price, and good for upmarket bistro dining,’ thought the WSET’s Mike Best, who considered it ‘perfect for matching with smoky, rich flavours’.

£8.99 Tilley's Wines

‘A good expression of a mid-range Barossa Shiraz,’ began an impressed Cosimo Di Totero of Chiltern Firehouse, who enjoyed this Gold winner’s ‘good balance of black ripe fruits, alcohol and oak flavours’. Team leader Tom Forrest noted its ‘light, leafy, minty character with a dash of peppery spice, some smoke and great length’, while for Woodhead 17’s James Fryer, ‘plum skins and stalk, and dark black fruits’ led to ‘a good streak of fresh acidity with oak spice in the background’.

£15.12 Matthew Clark

Team leader Tom Forrest praised this Gold winner for its ‘light minty notes and some eucalyptus on the nose, with notes of dark fruit and peppery spice with soft tannins’. Cheese at Leadenhall’s Robert Mason found ‘a delicate spice nose opening into ripe, dark plum, berry and chocolate’, and concluded that this was ‘elegant and smooth, with great concentration and balance’, before pronouncing it a perfect accompaniment to chocolate fondant.

£48.23 Enotria&Coe

As this Shiraz earned itself a well-deserved Gold, team leader Annette Scarfe MW praised its ‘sweet, creamy vanilla oak and crowd-pleasing style with lovely structure, and dark chocolate and truffle notes’, while The Don’s Carlos Ferreira picked up on its ‘complex nose of black fruit and cinnamon, dark cherry and chocolate’. ‘A rich, concentrated palate with blueberries, black pepper and leather’ characterised, for Three Chimneys Restaurant’s Petri Pentikainen, a ‘very well-balanced wine with long cellaring potential’.

£29.40 Liberty Wines

Adding a well-deserved Gold to its Bronze medal in this category, Shingleback’s offering was, in a word, ‘exceptional’, according to the WSET’s Mike Best, who further described it as ‘elegant, floral, vibrant and concentrated’. ‘Juicy and mouthwatering with great balance,’ praised team leader Jade Koch, highlighting its ‘sweet vanilla and blackcurrant flavours’, while Manuel Ribeiro of The Bybrook at The Manor House Hotel pointed out ‘notes of chocolate, coffee, spice and a hint of mint in a great wine’.

£21.21 Matthew Clark

‘A leaner style with finesse on the palate and redcurrant and blueberry fruit, elegant and not overripe or too big,’ said appreciative team leader Annette Scarfe MW.

£13.29 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

Street XO’s Raphael Thierry found a ‘herbal nose, followed by sweet fruit with a hint of savoury notes and dried herbs on the palate, with structure as well as soft texture’.

£11.44 Bibendum

Team leader Nigel Lister found aromas of ‘menthol, coconut, After Eight mints, with bright red fruits and decent length, notes of cocoa on the finish’, while Adam Michocki of Glasshouse emphasised its ‘range of black fruit flavours, perfume and good structure on the palate’.

£14.00 Enotria&Coe

This one ticked all the value boxes for our judges, with The Connaught’s Aurel Istrate admiring its ‘red fruit nose, violet floral notes and well-integrated oak, elegant tannins and fresh finish’, and Wild Wine Club’s Debbie Warner picking up ‘bramble, liquorice, spicy pepper and blackcurrant with white and dark chocolate’.

£9.90 Direct Wines Production

‘Dark, spicy and brooding, a smoother, more velvety and smoky style,’ began The Harrow at Little Bedwyn’s Sue Jones, with team leader Martin Lam noting a ‘savoury-sweet fruit nose, plush and polished fruit palate, supported by fine oak structure’.

£21.51 Direct Wines Production

Team leader Lionel Periner found a complex nose of ‘red fruit, berries, animal notes, plums and violets’, leading to a ‘full-bodied but smooth palate with high tannin and finishing with spice’. ‘Warm, soft palate, juicy and fun while not being overly complicated,’ added Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte.

£11.52 Zonte's Footstep

This was ‘concentrated, with deep, dark fruit and delicious bitter chocolate notes and perfectly integrated coconut oak’, said an impressed Debbie Warner of Wild Wine Club. ‘Intense concentration of fruit with well-integrated oak and firm, silky tannin structure,’ agreed Cosimo Di Totero of Chiltern Firehouse.

£21.45 Liberty Wines

A ‘complex and wonderful wine’, thought Edgaras Kazokaitis of Roka Aldwych, noting ‘different layers of fruit, black cherry and bramble, oak and vanilla with sweet spices’, while Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte described it as having a ‘seductive and juicy’ style.

£21.07 CAPE BARREN WINES

Cosimo Di Totero of Chiltern Firehouse admired this wine’s ‘high concentration of jammy black fruit, spicy and peppery mid-palate and silky tannin structure’, while Wild Wine Club’s Debbie Warner highlighted a ‘fragrant eucalypt nose, blackberries and damsons with sweet spice on the palate giving way to firm tannin to finish’.

£23.15 Liberty Wines

Woodhead 17’s James Fryer highlighted this wine’s ‘mint choc-chip nose, bay leaf, eucalypt and lemon balm herbal notes, with dried black fruits and a hint of Old Spice perfume’, while Adam Michocki of Glasshouse enjoyed its ‘characterful, herbal style with ripe raspberry, black cherry and black plum fruit, a bit earthy on the palate but nicely balanced fruitiness’.

£7.27 Boutinot

‘A star!’ proclaimed The Harrow at Little Bedwyn’s Sue Jones, who made the most of its ‘cherries and bilberries, lighter and uplifting style with beautiful fruits in a soft and delicious texture, not overworked or overdone’. ‘Palate surprisingly subtle and restrained,’ agreed team leader Martin Lam.

£26.33 Enotria&Coe

Aurel Istrate of The Connaught found the ‘oak well integrated, with red and black fruit balanced by elegant tannins’, and team leader Tom Forrest noted ‘some mintiness, with soft, overripe black fruit on the palate’.

£19.61 Enotria&Coe

A classic style, showing ‘very ripe jammy fruit, big tannin structure and low acidity with a juicy finish’, said Cosimo Di Totero of Chiltern Firehouse, with team leader Tom Forrest noting ‘some leafiness and medicinal notes, a light touch of brett but juicy red and black fruit with ripe tannins’.

£14.06 Enotria&Coe

A good display of ‘round fruity aromas, prune juice and sandalwood spice with red flowers, good acidity and balance with a warm finish’, said team leader Laurent Richet MS, with Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston also noting ‘blueberry jam, toffee and chocolate notes’.

£6.62 Boutinot

A ‘scented and aromatic’ style for team leader Laurent Richet MS, who picked up ‘figs and prunes, dark plum and quite firm tannin structure showing good skills against the power of the wine’, with Elisa Soggia of Kai Mayfair highlighting ‘red fruits and cassis, high tannins but an intense fruity taste, hearty with fresh mint hints’.

£16.73 Boutinot

Woodhead 17’s James Fryer revelled in this Shiraz’s ‘pure core of sweet fruits and dark earth, thick and robust palate of blackcurrant and eucalypt with black pepper and spice’, while Sumilier’s Sumita Sarma praised its ‘fullness of character, earthy, dense, super fruit concentration’ rating it ‘an opulent classic that would also benefit from being laid down’.

£36.33 Heirloom Vineyards

‘Nice fresh berries on the nose with floral and eucalyptus notes, a balanced palate with great crushed berry flavours and good acidity,’ said satisfied team leader Lionel Periner, with Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte finding it ‘refined and more delicate in style, really lovely with leather and tobacco, red cherry and currants with violets’.

£34.65 Heirloom Vineyards

A ‘smoky oak and spice nose with tart liquorice notes’ led to a palate of ‘cassis and damson fruit with a nice lift on the finish’, said team leader Martin Lam.

£14.48 Zonte's Footstep

Manuel Ribeiro of The Bybrook at The Manor House Hotel described a ‘heavy nose with powerful fruit, but fresh and juicy on the palate with chocolate and spicy toast, very complex and appealing, rich but not heavy with a powerful, long finish’.

£20.43 Zonte's Footstep

‘Full-bodied, chewy and delicious’ for team leader Jade Koch, with its ‘mulberry bramble fruit, and cool and minty, brooding, robust and dark character’, while Manuel Ribeiro of The Bybrook at The Manor House Hotel enjoyed its ‘rich, enveloping palate, complex and balanced with bramble fruit and spice’.

£14.98 Berkmann Wine Cellars

While Edgaras Kazokaitis of Roka Aldwych liked the ‘elegant nose, gentle fruit notes with smooth vanilla and ripe berries’, Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte described ‘silky, seductive black fruits, vanilla oak and lots of pepper’, and thought it was ‘good quality, drinking well but will also age’.

£14.98 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘Sweet spice on the nose, rich dark fruit, firm but ripe tannin structure’ made this ‘very good value’ for Debbie Warner of Wild Wine Club, while The Connaught’s Aurel Istrate enjoyed its ‘cherry flavours with subtle tomato leaf and a well-balanced, long finish’.

£11.04 Liberty Wines

‘A rich wine with ripe undertones,’ began Hakkasan Mayfair’s Jurijs Nemkovs, continuing: ‘Juicy, fresh and easy-drinking with some herbaceous notes and a pleasant hint of bitterness at the end.’

£18.50 Liberty Wines

‘Good intensity with spicy and plummy character, with a big eucalyptus aftertaste,’ began Tatiana Mann of The Vine Eno Gastro Pub, while Jurijs Nemkovs of Hakkasan Mayfair enjoyed a ‘swathe of red and dark fruits, very ripe’, and thought ‘a good level of acidity is a finishing touch’.

£7.19 Berkmann Wine Cellars

‘Quite a savoury, dark, brooding wine with good body and a rounded mouthfeel,’ began Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia, with Giuseppe Longobardi of The Cross Kenilworth and Simpsons Edgbaston finding ‘cherry, blueberry and blackcurrant, intense overripe fruit on the palate, soft with a light touch of tannins’.

£13.70 VinumTerra

Edgaras Kazokaitis of Roka Aldwych was pleased with its ‘dark plum and blackberry aromas, then a palate that’s soft but full of berry flavours, with high tannin but balancing acidity’, while Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte highlighted its ‘grippy structure, a bit of tar with fresh plum and pleasant balance’.

£12.58 CAPE BARREN WINES

‘Full and heady on the nose,’ began team leader Jade Koch, highlighting its ‘good blackcurrant fruit, long and juicy palate with a pleasing level of bitterness – McLaren Vale all the way’.

£12.58 CAPE BARREN WINES

Cristian Sánchez of Hotel du Vin Cambridge found ‘sweet strawberries and cherries, raspberries blended with sweet spices, a medium-bodied style with ripe, medium tannins and a long, fruity finish’, while Elisa Soggia of Kai Mayfair also noted ‘juicy red fruits with some wet hay, farmyardy character’.

£9.56 Boutinot

Team leader Annette Scarfe MW found ‘prominent creamy coconut on the palate, pure strawberry fruit with dark plums and a complex body’, while The Vine Eno Gastro Pub’s Tatiana Mann felt it was a ‘very pleasant wine with well-ripened plummy fruit character’.

£13.80 Great Wine Estates

The Harrow at Little Bedwyn’s Sue Jones found this ‘meaty and savoury with great length, richness and lusciousness’, while Royal Automobile Club’s Davide Dall’Amico highlighted ‘fresh red and black fruit aromas, a touch of plum on the palate with warm, subtle spices’.

£10.25 Berkmann Wine Cellars

There was ‘dark fruit, menthol, toasted bread and liquorice’ on the nose here, said team leader Lionel Periner, followed by a palate that was ‘full and jammy, big with tannin and black pepper on the finish’. ‘Cocoa spice and earth round this out, balanced and enjoyable,’ added Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte.

£14.91 Matthew Clark

Gymkhana’s Valentin Radosav found ‘blackberry, black cherry, ripe tannins and well-integrated alcohol’, and Coworth Park Ascot’s Michael Fiducia highlighted its ‘lifted, perfumed cherry and mocha coffee aromas and flavours’.

£17.86 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£9.17 Bibendum

£9.48 Liberty Wines

£13.11 Bibendum

£8.45 Direct Wines Production

£10.50 Liberty Wines

£7.96 Direct Wines Production

£8.50 Fuller's

£12.50 Fuller's

£17.98 Liberty Wines

£11.70 Liberty Wines

£19.70 Liberty Wines

£8.61 Hatch Mansfield

£12.40 Liberty Wines

£20.45 Matthew Clark

£10.47 Matthew Clark

£8.79 Enotria&Coe

£12.59 Liberty Wines

£20.22 Heirloom Vineyards

£19.04 Liberty Wines

£11.52 Zonte's Footstep

£10.35 Matthew Clark

£10.76 Matthew Clark

£14.48 Zonte's Footstep

£11.52 Zonte's Footstep

£12.95 Liberty Wines

£28.80 Eurowines

£13.47 Bibendum

£10.47 Tilley's Wines

£10.59 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£10.47 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Hakkasan Mayfair's Jurijs Nemkovs liked its 'easy-drinking style with some sweet fruit aromas, crisp acidity and a soft juicy finish, full of red fruits from start to finish', and team leader Annette Scarfe MW found it 'ripe and jammy, crowd-pleasing good value'.

£6.57 Berkmann Wine Cellars