From Bottle Green. Barrington is the first Australian wine company to export this hybrid to the UK where it has been listed by Asda. Abv: 13.5% Price: £5.99 TARGET CONSUMER Duncan Morton, 35, is an IT provisions manager from Reading, Berkshire I'd probably pass this by as the label is bland, the typeface is boring and it doesn't stand out at all. I've never heard of this grape before but the name makes it sound more French than Australian. The colour of the wine is like blood and it reminds me of Dracula sucking blood from someone's neck in Transylvania. It smells spicy, woody and Olde Worlde ­ and you can almost smell the casket it's come from. It tastes very fruity, like blackberries, it is soft and rounded on the throat, and the taste stays in your mouth for quite a long time afterwards. It seems like an expensive wine and it does taste quite old, almost as if it's about to turn into a sherry. Maybe it was from Transylvania after all. Rating out of 25 ­ 17 The expert Sally Easton Master of Wine and wine buyer for Berry Brothers and Rudd This Australian wine from the Hunter Valley, made unusually from a hybrid grape variety, has a deep purple colour with inky, plum fruit on the nose and some aromatic oaky spiciness. The palate shows crunchy, youthful plum and cherry fruit of good intensity and supple tannins. The wine is full bodied and fruity with a classic new world appeal and softness of texture. At £5.99 this is good value. It is well balanced and structured. It is also more-ish. The packaging is understated and in the easy-to-understand style normally typical of the new world. Rating out of 25 ­ 23 Graham Shearsby Board creative director, graphics, at Design Bridge Here's a very laid back harmless offering from Down Under. I like the name even if it is on the Creeky, Rocky, Pointy side of things. The grape variety is an unusual one and certainly worth a second glance. I think there is a missed opportunity with the pine tree iconography, but it is quite nicely used as a subtle silhouette gloss-on-matt tint on the capsule. Overall, an inoffensive little number with a memorable name ­ and bravo for not offering yet another Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz blend of which there seem to be a fair number. Rating out of 25 ­ 10 Steve Mayes Category controller at Landmark Whether it's the complexity and diversity that pushes your buttons or just the desire for a decent drop of Aussie Red, this is a compulsory purchase. The label is unfussy and simple but delivers an alluring statement ­ a Hunter Valley Chambourcin. What's a Chambourcin? Sounds like a cross between a cheese and a yogurt. So there's the hook ­ you have to buy it to find out. This is not your usual ShirazCabMerlot but a silky purple liquid that reeks of fruit and tastes even better. At £5.99 it's ideally pitched and it'll be a valuable addition to any wine range for on' or off' trade. Rating out of 25 ­ 21 Total score out of 100 ­ 71 {{DRINKS }}

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