Château Tour Saint-Germain Cuvée Prestige 2010 (France)

Nose:  Sharp, red fruit

Taste:  Dry, with berries

Finish:  Light - a little bit woody

What we say:  S - 'It smells like a new batch of pencil crayons'  V - 'As soon as you get your initial hit of the nose, there is not that much going on'  S - 'Berryish - still a little bit of pencil crayon in the taste.  I've only chewed in the ends of them while  drawing but....'  V - 'I would buy this again just to drink'

What they say:  An intense nose with fruit.  A soft taste with a good tannic evolution.

Rating:  7

Château Bellegrave Cru Bourgeois Médoc AOC 2008 (France)

Nose:  Deep scent; dark red fruits, possibly cherry.

Taste:  Very smooth; initially pretty light, but the taste gets a bit more full as you go along.  Super dry cherry, like unsweetened cherry flavour.

Finish:  A bit unremarkable

What we say:  V - 'It's a standard wine.  It's not bad, but not something to write home about.'

What they say:  Nuttin'

Rating:  5

Domaine du Gouyat Bergerac AOC 2010 (France)

Nose:  Sweet, powerful, but not unpleasant.  Just strong and particular.

Taste:  Has a sweetness to it - a semi-dry, but not noticeably fruity.

Finish:  Goes away pretty fast, doesn't linger - not like The Cranberries...

What we say:  V - 'The nose almost reminded me of the chlorine blast that you get when you go to the pool.  It obviously doesn't smell like chlorine, but it's the same instantaneous intensity.'  S - 'It smells like baby powder'  V - 'It's pretty drinkable, through not stunning.'  'It almost tastes like 'my first red wine.'  It's decent, but it's like an introductory red wine.' S - 'It's not grotesquely sweet, it's not syrupy.'

What they say:  Aromas of red fruits and spices

Rating:  6

Le Pinvert Rouge Pays d'Oc AOC 2009 (France)

Nose:  Oaky, woodiness, red berries, with slightly sweet overtones

Taste:  It's much sweeter than we expected, a medium red

Finish:  Bitter

What we say:  V - 'What the hell is that taste?' 'It's almost like a red wine version of cranberry juice, minus the initial sour hit.  Maybe it's like cran-grape?'

Them:  Nuttin'

Rating:  2

Mateus Rosé (Portugal)

Nose:  Sweet, floral, a bit of citrus - almost lemon

Taste:  Light, slightly carbonated, semi-sweet

Finish:  Almost nothing

What we say:  V - 'It's a nice scent.  It's pretty fresh.'  S - 'It doesn't taste like much, but its not bad either' 'Rosés are summery drinks and should be refreshing, and this is.  It's not sickly sweet and its not too heavy either'  V - 'It's a little bit too much like juice.'

What they say:  Young, fresh, fruity and versatile

Rating:  5.5 (V - 5; S - 6)

Prestige Cellier des Dauphins Côtes du Rhône AOC (France)

Nose:  Super light, sour and fruity, maybe a little bit of wood?

Taste:  Pretty sharp

Finish:  A tannic finish, but not dry

What we say:  V - 'It's really not great, the sweetness and the tannins just don't work together'  S - 'There's just nothing going on with it at all'

What they say:  Nuttin'

Rating:  3.5 (V - 3; S - 4)

Baron de Lafontade Bordeaux AOC 2010 (France)

Nose:  Super light, greasy chicken?

Taste:  Very light, indistinguishable flavours

Finish:  A bit bitter

What we say:  S - 'I'm having trouble smelling anything'  V - 'Smells like alcohol'  S - 'Unremarkable.  Kinda watery'   V - 'The taste blooms in your mouth after the wine is gone, but it's not great'

What they say:  Aromas of red fruits with the presence of tannins

Rating:  3

Château Edmond de la Fontaine Chardonnay Grand Premier Cru 2010 (Luxembourg)

Nose:  Citrusy, a little bit of vanilla?  Grapefruit?

Taste:  Definitely citrusy and grapefruit, quite dry

Finish:  A bit of sour grapefruit

What we say:  V - 'It almost smells like a citrus desert.  Very pleasant though.'

What they say:  Nuttin'

Rating:  6.5 (V - 6; S - 7)

Les Combelles Côtes du Rhône Villages 2009 (France)

Nose:  Strong with red berries and oakiness.  It's definitely foresty.

Taste:  Sharp but not popping in flavours, almost pungent.

Finish:  Almost a mineral finish

What we say:  S - "The nose reminds me of a heavy forest"  "I'm a bit disappointed given the other Côtes du Rhône we had"  V - "It's one-dimensional with pungency that fades into bitterness"

What they say:  Subtle aromas of licorice and black fruit with an elegant mouth.

Rating:  4

Oltesse Cahors AOC 2009 (France)

Nose:  Sweet, pretty heavy.  Syrupy, maybe cherry?

Taste:  Slightly fruity, but definitely drier than expected.

Finish:  Pretty unremarkable, bit of sourness.

What we say:  V - "It almost smells like cherry syrup." "It's difficult to place a distinct flavour"  S - "I can't pinpoint a flavour either"

What they say:  Strong and elegant

Rating:  4.5 (V - 4; S - 5)