Some top-notch bottles from Carte Blanche Wines

10 years ago, you could tell an Aussie Chardonnay from a Burgundy at 20 paces, but nowadays, with much more linear wines from Down Under it’s not so easy. Clinton Cawood mixes things up and asks a team of trembling tasters for their thoughts

In New Zealand’s warmer North Island, there is a growing feeling that the best reds are being made not with Cabernet and Merlot, but Syrah. Rebecca Gibb heads to Hawke’s Bay and discovers a battle between winemaking idealism and hard-nosed pragmatism

Sparkling Wine & Champagne: Under £14

Not a vast amount in the way of bargains, but there were some decent, unusual wines here, proving that the New World still knows how to innovate

Aussie Shiraz is rarely cheap now, but a growing elegance saw a big rise in medals this year – and a lot of happy tasters

Some good-value wines but the relatively low ratio of entries to medals suggests a lot of bandwagon-jumping, too

Plenty of medals again for Chile, although the judges were most impressed stylistically with Australia and South Africa

While the kick-out rate was high, the wines left at the end served as a blunt reminder to sub-standard also-rans of just how good the pink stuff can be

No Golds, but plenty of positive feedback. A good hunting ground for those of you who ‘do’ esoteric on your list

Consistent only in its inconsistency, this year’s Aussie Shiraz category was all about the lower price points

A big improvement on last year’s medal haul, although with nothing under a tenner, it came at a price…

There was little to excite the judges in this new category. Here’s hoping for better things from the pair in 2012

A good selection of medals from across the New World shows this is a category with real strength in depth

Good wines, good prices and a variety of styles, Syrah was one of the stand-out varieties for the New World