Ticking all the boxes for team leader Tom Forrest, and picking up a Gold medal in the process, this noteworthy Chardonnay showed ‘creamy vanilla oak and some stone fruit and orange aromas, with canteloupe melon and peach flavours on the palate balancing the oak in a rich and buttery style, with great balance and length’. Team leader Angela Reddin appreciated additional notes of ‘lemon posset, peach melba and crème brûlée, with some savoury notes, too’, and thought it had a ‘bright and fresh palate with clever oak use and a long, elegant finish’.

£17.89 Bibendum

With its ‘chalky, floral, nutty’ aromas, this worthy Gold medal recipient was ‘elegant, with a charming delivery, freshness and drive’, began Chris Delalonde MS of Bleeding Heart Group, while Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant admired its ‘beautiful nose that’s quite complex, buttery and ripe with apple and pear fruit’, further describing ‘a lovely creamy texture on the palate that is very well complemented by freshness, and a good option for cod or sea bass’.

£13.25 Davy's Wine Merchants

There was plenty of fruit and personality in this clear candidate for Gold, with team leader Nigel Lister noting ‘quince, pineapple, coconut and vanilla, and an exotically rich and creamy texture coupled with banana freshness and lees character’, while Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent picked up ‘nectarine intensity, vanilla, beeswax and peachy white chocolate cake’. Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club, meanwhile, enjoyed ‘fresh almond notes with crisp minerality, crispy apples and complex oak on the finish’.

£13.29 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

‘Fruity and mineral on the nose, and a little flinty with hints of gingerbread,’ began Simone Fadda of Roka Aldwych in praise of this Gold medal Chardonnay, also noting that it was ‘fresh and citrusy with grapefruit zest on the palate’, while Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS enjoyed its ‘chalk, yeast, apple and pear aromas with oak spices, complex expression on a dense, mineral palate with salty touches’ that will develop further with time.

£19.12 Liberty Wines

It was an impressed judging panel that elevated this Chardonnay to Gold, with its ‘struck match, smoky bacon nose, tahini and rich yellow orchard fruits, sappy acidity and elegance’, as team leader Nigel Lister put it, also noting that it was ‘young, but with great potential’. Meanwhile Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent found it ‘immensely intense, with ripe white fruits and botanicals, notes of dried banana, avocado and freshly baked cake, and with buttery notes and a good, elegant finish’.

£28.31 Mentzendorff & Co

This was a firm favourite with Euan McColm of Beaverbrook, who liked its ‘grapefruit and gingernut biscuit aromas, supple and lively palate with well-integrated oak and lively, spicy, smoky finish’, while James Fryer of Woodhead 17 found a ‘slightly leesy, banana nose, notes of wheat and riper peach flesh in a broad style, some tautness and crunch’.

£12.58 CAPE BARREN WINES

Standing out for its ‘very smoky nose and complex palate’, this showed ‘intense, mouthwatering lime jelly on the palate, powerful richness with a long and pungent finish’, according to team leader Sarah Jane Evans MW, with Woodhead 17’s James Fryer adding: ‘Smells like salted popcorn, with an earthy character on the palate, vanilla and gunpowder notes, too.’

£22.21 Matthew Clark

Team leader Tom Forrest enjoyed this Chardonnay’s ‘toasty oak aromas, melon and pineapple fruit with some mango, more toasted oak on the palate but freshness shining through’, with Antóin UáRuairc of UK Midland Sommelier Ltd finding it ‘intense, opening up well with very good length’.

£10.80 Great Wine Estates

‘Exciting and vibrant, great juice with citrus dinginess,’ began team leader Andrea Briccarello, with Bleeding Heart Group’s Chris Delalonde MS finding ‘confit lemon, apple and tangerine, salty hints and oak on the nose, an unctuous and intense mid-palate, lifted by great acidity’.

£26.26 Enotria&Coe

‘Rich and concentrated, with a wide range of white fruit flavours, vanilla and buttery notes,’ began Lazaros Engonopoulos of Coq d’Argent, while Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club picked up on its ‘citrus lemon notes, herbal aromas, beautiful toast notes and complex, fresh finish’.

£63.48 Stefano Lubiana Wines

Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte found this ‘seductive if not a bit hedonistic, yet balanced’, full of ‘peaches and cream with fresh acids and loads of toasty oak’. ‘Very good aftertaste and mouthfeel,’ added Antóin UáRuairc of UK Midland Sommelier Ltd.

£12.74 Enotria&Coe

Simone Fadda of Roka Aldwych found ‘apple, quince and pear aromas with a honeysuckle undernote’, and Stefano Barbarino of Chez Bruce Restaurant noted a ‘lovely floral component, camomile very present with oily texture on the palate, well balanced by nice freshness’, recommending a match with ‘light fish dishes such as mackerel’.

£10.25 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Team leader Nigel Lister enjoyed this wine’s ‘delicious, balanced, mouthwatering honeydew melon with pear and white flowers’, while Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club picked up ‘light green pea and herbal notes, Cox apple and baked fruit with complexity on the finish’.

£10.47 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Team leader Nigel Lister noted ‘fresh-cut pear aromas and just a touch of oak spice, then bright acidity and good texture on the palate’, finding this a ‘good value option, with juicy acidity and a fresh finish’.

£7.19 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£31.25 Heirloom Vineyards

£9.99 Bibendum

£16.60 Bibendum

£32.80 Hallgarten & Novum Wines

£13.82 Matthew Clark

£15.50 Great Wine Estates

£8.79 Enotria&Coe

£5.79 LWC Drinks Ltd (Merchant and Shippers)

£13.27 Bibendum