A host of the world's top universities have begun competing in one of the world's largest amateur wine tasting competitions, the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup.

Thirty-nine teams in total have entered, with representatives from Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and a host of top French institutions, including Centrale, Dauphine, EDHEC Lille, ENS Lyon and ENS Paris, Decanter reports.

Contestants will taste some of the finest Bordeaux wines before having to identify the chateau and specify the appellation, vintage and property, while making tasting notes.

The eight teams that progress to the final will undertake the last round on the grounds of prestigious Bordeaux estate Chateau Lafite Rothschild this summer, under the watchful eye of competition chairman Baron Eric de Rothschild.

Now in its 11th year the 2012 version of the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup, is the biggest yet. Last year saw the team from Harvard take the title.