50mm macro lens

I was supprised today to see the results from "what camera" magazine when they did tests on 6 macro lenses. From what Ive read over the past year on this forum that this lens is superb and incredibly sharp. One of the comments that struck me was they found it soft for portraits. I wonder if they got a duff lens as just about everyone raves about the clarity of the lens on this forum.The final result was 52% which is probably the lowest Ive seen on anything in their magazine. It is a lens one day I'd love to buy and Id trust the people on this forum over one reviewer. Just wondered what people thought about it.