Roxane Dupuy named winner of the inaugural UK Sommelier Challenge

By Oliver Catchpole

Published: 16 September, 2025

Roxane Dupuy, executive sommelier at Row on 5, has been announced as the winner of the first ever Taylor’s Port Vintage Years UK Sommelier Challenge.

The challenge was a closed invitation event at the Napoleon Cellar of Berry Bros. & Rudd on 14 July, where a gathering of the UK’s top sommeliers competed to demonstrate their vintage Port expertise.

The contest centred around a blind-tasting overseen by David Guimaraens, technical director and head winemaker at Taylor’s Port.

Read more: Hatch Mansfield tasting: Iberian intrigue meets Evremond excitement

Six vintage Ports from six different decades were tasted: Taylor’s Vintage 1970, Taylor’s Vintage 1985, Taylor’s Vintage 1994, Taylor’s Quinta de Vargellas 2004, Taylor’s Vintage 2016, and Taylor’s Sentinels 2022.

Participants were charged with taking tasting notes, accurately identifying the vintage year and proposing dish pairings (suitable to their own restaurant menus) for each port.

After a week of refining their answers, the candidates submitted them to Guimaraens, who saw only the candidate number of each response.

Guimaraens said: “I was delighted to be able to host and judge such a prestigious competition. It has been a pleasure to host some of the UK’s greatest palates, and we hope through our combined efforts we can inspire and educate Port drinkers on how best to enjoy these iconic wines.”

The top five sommeliers were:

First place - Roxane Dupuy, executive sommelier, Row on 5
Second place - Natasha Senina, head sommelier, Chewton Glen
Third place - Danielle Greaves, sommelier, Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester
Fourth place - Roberto Zanca, head sommelier, Prithvi
Fifth place - Jacopo Maroni, head sommelier, The Braywood Restaurant

For winning, Dupuy will receive a selection of Taylor’s Vintage Port and a two-night trip to Porto for two people staying at the Yeatman Hotel, including meals and a private tasting with Guimaraens. The four runners up will also get a prize.

Taylor’s Port is a historic port wine lodge, established in 1692 and family run ever since. The firm is mainly recognized for its vintage Ports, which are blended from the wines of five estates that it owns.

As part of the competition, all winning entries will be displayed on the Taylor’s Port website and remain available for anyone with an interest in Port to access.

To read Harpers' coverage of the July event, including the talk David Guimaraens gave to the competiting sommeliers, you can click here.

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