Rotterdam fishery Ruud den Haan won newspaper AD's annual test for the best herring in the Netherlands. "This is something you can only dream of", Christian den Haan said to the newspaper on Friday.

After years of scoring at least a 9 in the National Herring Test, this year Ruud den Haan scored a 10 from the judges. "A full creamy and salty taste. School example of everything that makes the Hollandse Nieuwe a real delicacy", the judges said.

Twin brothers Robert and Christian are the fourth generation of Den Haan's in the fishing industry. After their father Ruud died suddenly in 2000, both gave up their studies to run the business. In 2006 they took on third business partner Seth van Dienst.

The quality of tested herrings was high this year, according to the newspaper. No less than 48 of the 148 visited outlets received a score of 8 or higher. On the other hand, 31 herring vendors scored below 2.5.

AD will publish the full list on Saturday.

Last year Gebroeders Simonis in The Hague won the herring test.