Earning its Gold medal in no small part for its excellent value for money, for Yohann Pinol of Wiltons this was ‘dark and dense’ in colour, leading to ‘pleasant notes of plum, blackberry and a rich texture with soft tannins – well balanced with very good length’. ‘Lovely, pure ripe fruit and a nice finish,’ added Vinoteca’s Charlie Young, while Leonie Loudon of Mediterroenean – Wines of the Mediterranean appreciated its ‘lively acidity, with nice balsamic notes and a touch of tarragon’.

£12.50 Oakley Wine Agencies

A favourite with our judges, this exceptional Douro wine’s Gold status was beyond question. Andre Luis Martins of Cavalry & Guards Club was impressed with its ‘fresh cassis perfumed with light spice notes’, followed by ‘powerful fruit with spicy richness, complex with a great long finish’, and team leader Simon Woods found it ‘big, deep and dense, polished with vanilla-tinged honey and berry-damson fruit and herbs’. ‘Delicious,’ said Coq d’Argent’s Andrés Ituarte, describing a ‘pepper, clove and cinnamon blend with a long brambly finish’.

£24.68 Quinta Vale D'Aldeia

‘Cured meats and crunchy red fruits on the nose,’ said Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm, who found this wine ‘exciting, with a big dose of tannic structure, the palate mirroring the nose, with complexity and plenty of bang for the buck’.

£9.47 Berkmann Wine Cellars

Team leader Simon Woods enjoyed this wine’s ‘rich, clean, juicy aromas of plummy fruit, with blackcurrant on the palate and a tangy, earthy finish’, while Beaverbrook’s Euan McColm felt it showed ‘sour cherries with Lego brick tannins and very pure, ripe fruit’.

£13.28 Enotria&Coe

Aurel Istrate of The Connaught found ‘fresh, red and black fruits, not too oaky’, while Wild Wine Club’s Debbie Warner admired the ‘rustic, brambly style with crunchy tannins, sensible use of oak and a juicy, crisp finish’.

£12.25 Clark Foyster Wines

Vinoteca’s Charlie Young liked the ‘warm, bready aromas’, finding the palate ‘good, dry, dark and chewy but underpinned by ripe, dark berry fruit’, while Coq d’Argent’s Lazaros Engonopoulos noted ‘bright red and black fruit, herbs and dried leaves, juicy and very easy drinking’.

£9.34 Liberty Wines

A pleasing package, presenting ‘quite clean and well-defined black fruit aromas’, began Vinoteca’s Charlie Young, adding: ‘Pretty, and on top you have lovely fine tannins and a pure, clear, dry finish.’

£12.94 Liberty Wines

Plenty of depth and character here, said Markus Dilger of Dilger Sommelier Selection, who found ‘dark chocolate, plum and black cherry with violet floral notes and cedar wood, fresh acidity and minerality on the palate, which finishes long with balanced oak, good potential’.

£28.95 Liberty Wines

Team leader Tom Forrest picked out this wine’s ‘spicy French oak cinnamon and cedar spice with perfumed fruits’, while Debbie Warner of Wild Wine Club thought its ‘mouthwatering sour cherry, spice and blackcurrant with firm tannic structure’ would be a ‘great match for grilled meats’.

£27.59 Atlantico UK, Top Selection

Euan McColm of Beaverbrook found this an ‘elegant wine’, yet at the same time ‘chocolatey and unctuous’, adding: ‘There’s lots more to it, to give a great balance of oak, dried fruit, dried meats and dark forest fruits.’ ‘Rich and fleshy, smells expensive, is polished and fine-boned, relaxed and confident,’ thought team leader Simon Woods.

£37.62 Atlantico UK, Top Selection

Wild Wine Club’s Debbie Warner enjoyed this wine’s ‘dark, concentrated blackcurrant fruit with firm structure, black pepper spice and a fresh finish’, while Cosimo Di Totero of Chiltern Firehouse praised its ‘high concentration of fruit, good tannin structure, acidity and oak integration’.

£23.17 Atlantico UK, Top Selection

‘Perfumed and floral on the nose with violet and rose,’ said team leader Tom Forrest, who liked its ‘soft, ripe red fruit palate, then some tobacco notes on a finish that’s drying but not bitter’.

£8.25 Hayward Bros

‘Sweet, ripe floral notes, jammy fruit and oak on the nose,’ began team leader Tom Forrest, also noting its ‘overripe jammy fruit palate and attractive spicy pepper after’, with Cosimo Di Totero of Chiltern Firehouse highlighting a ‘big oak flavour, vanilla and toasty coconut’.

£15.28 Enotria&Coe

Coq d’Argent’s Lazaros Engonopoulos found ‘black berries and a chocolate biscuity character, with a touch of minerality on a powerful, complex wine with great potential’, while Vinoteca’s Charlie Young enjoyed a ‘blackcurrant hit on the nose, big tannins, purity and freshness, power, too, but it works very well!’

£21.00 Top Selection

£12.70 Hayward Bros

£8.09 Berkmann Wine Cellars

£24.57 Bibendum

£7.95 Oakley Wine Agencies

£9.50 Oakley Wine Agencies

£11.08 Davy's Wine Merchants

£18.27 Clark Foyster Wines

£11.77 Quinta Vale D'Aldeia

£7.56 The Portuguese Fine Wine Company