THE EXPERT Arabella Woodrow Master of Wine and wine buyer for Forth Wine This has an attractive, deep crimson red colour. It has a slightly raw, minty, faintly medicinal nose, which is also fruity and unmistakably Australian. It has some up-front fruit and is a little bit rubbery and not exactly subtle, but then anybody buying something called Hair of the Dingo will not be expecting subtle nuances and elegance. As a barbecue glugging wine it probably fits the bill perfectly in today's market. For £3.99 I've had a lot worse, but these "joke" labels have a limited lifespan. I don't think the wine lets the label down; if anything, it's probably vice versa. Success rating out of 25 ­ 20 THE DESIGNER Matt Thompson Associate director of Blackburn's, a brand packaging designer A break from the norm that is fun, lively and driven by what consumers want ­ not winemakers. The £3.99 price suits this positioning and reassures punters it is still a decent wine. The name's implicit humour, with its "dingo" provenance slant, has greater longevity than other tongue-in-cheek offerings. The old adage "it's how you tell 'em" holds true, since it's the comedian that makes a joke funny. The Ozzie track record for humour makes the gag all the more palatable. Individual brands that can tap into these positive, emotive qualities of their origin are all the more seductive for it. Success rating out of 25 ­ 20 The buyer Adam Marshall Licensed trading controller at Nisa-Today's Initially the Malbec scythes through this wine giving it some real bite, which makes it an ideal accompaniment to the charcoaled meat often served up at bbqs. The wine does mellow in taste after opening but then the alcohol comes to the fore and overpowers any fruit aromas. Even for an Australian wine I think the £3.99 price point is overstated by 50p as this wine is quirky but not that good. It just doesn't match up to the branded Australian offerings from the likes of Hardy's, which are being aggressively promoted at under four quid a bottle and deliver a much more pleasant experience (and are more likely to impress your bbq guests or host!). Success rating out of 25 ­ 8 Total score out of 100 ­ 61 {{DRINKS }}

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