I'm delighted that the number of entries for the Top 100 has increased dramatically this year. It's a reflection of how seriously producers take the competition - and how badly they want to win.
The judges unanimously agreed that the quality of the wines was an improvement on last year. Value for money was exceptional too. Most of the wines we sampled would retail at less than £6, including several of our 12 trophy winners. Even the pricier wines were worth the money.
Tim Atkin, Wine Writer & Wine Editor at large for OLN and Chair of the Top 100 Vin de Pays Competition.

Retailers have to stock better wines and highlight them to the customer; after all, it is he or she who will ultimately decide on the success. We simply have to sell more Vins de Pays wines and gain further customer awareness and loyalty.
Jonathan Butt, Wine Buyer for Threshers

The overall quality was higher than I’d anticipated. I thought it was particularly exciting that many more esoteric wines shone alongside the old favourites. For example, the Vermentino trophy winner, amongst many other, but less surprising successes.
Chris Hardy, Wine Buyer for Majestic

The Top 100 VDP competition has again confirmed that the quality continues to grow. Of course there is still room for guidance, and improvements are necessary, but the category is an exciting one that deserves respect.
Sam Harrop MW, Winemaking Consultant

The overall quality was seriously impressive. The balance of the 2004 whites is lovely and the aromatics showed particularly well. Sauvignon was quite a star, with some almost New World characters coming through on the nose, ripe gooseberry and passion fruit. The reds were impressive, with the Grenache and Grenache blends showing wonderful white pepper and spice.
Laura Jewell MW, Wine Buyer for Sainsbury’s

The Chardonnay and Viognier blends were good. More surprisingly the Ugni Blanc showed well. I didn’t have very high expectations for this variety. The Grenache wines were also showing really well and this could be marketed some more. Grenache is yet to be widely introduced to people, but it could be a leading variety for Vins de Pays exports.
Joëlle Marti, Restaurant Operations Manager at the Great Eastern Hotel

The baked rubbery style of some southern Vins de Pays, especially Merlot, Cabernet and even sometimes Syrah, doesn’t get my vote. So I was pleased to see some good examples of these varieties, as well as some excellent Chardonnays and Sauvignons. However, it was the Vermentino/Rolle and Viognier, plus the Syrah, which I found especially good.
Peter McCombie MW, Wine Consultant

I was hoping that the whites would be better in this year’s tasting, given the more normal temperatures in 2004. And they were indeed better, with a particularly strong category of Sauvignons. But there were also some good reds as well, especially in the southern categories: Syrah, Grenache and southern blends.
Charles Metcalfe, Associate Editor for Wine International

This is an excellent competition, judging a very important sector of the market, and the results cannot fail to be of value to consumers and producers, as well as for the trade. They are a real indication of the style and quality that they should aiming for.
Liz Morcom MW, Wine Consultant

Globally, I think this tasting showed high quality and good value for money.
Eric Narioo, owner of Les Caves de Pyrène

The overall impression was that this is a vibrant category with many, many interesting wines at different price points.
I was particularly surprised at just how classy some of the Top 100 Vins de Pays are, especially the French Connection Sauvignon.
Alastair Peebles MW, Director of First Growth Ltd

The keenness of the participating trade judges is a clear demonstration to me of the value of this competition. In an increasingly brand-conscious world, it gives them a helping hand I sorting the sheep from the goats.
What’s interesting is the number of good to excellent wines that surface through the competition that have no importer here but clearly deserve to have one.
Anthony Rose, Wine Writer for the Independent

There was a good bunch of great value wines and some stunning wines. But overall it shows an openness on the part of the producers who are willing to compete.
Simon Woods, Wine Writer for Wine International