Cuvée Émile Fleurie 2011 (France)

Nose:  Pretty light, but with some oakiness

Taste:  Dry with berries, most likely cherry or the darker red berries.  Maybe a bit sour.

Finish:  Medium tannins that linger.

What we say:  V - 'It's hard to get much from the nose.'  S - 'Maybe it will be better with food?'  'This is drinkable, but might not be our taste.'

What they say:  Nuttin'

Rating:  5

Price:  £6.00

Cono Sur Pinot Noir 2011 (Chile)

Nose:  Good balance between dark berries and oak, maybe some spiciness or pepper?

Taste:  Definitely red berries, with a little bit of sweetness.  Sort of a medium-dry.

Finish:  Medium-light tannins

What we say:  S - 'Ah, it's one of those smells we've had before.  I always forget what this is!'  V - 'The nose is sort of dessertish'.  V - 'There's a bit of sourness in the finish.' S - 'Yeah, almost like you want to chew on something?'

What they say:  Aromas and flavours of cherry, plum, and strawberry, finished with subtle spiciness.

Rating:  6

Price:  £7.49

Alianca Dão Quinta Da Garrida Reserva 2005 (Portugal)

Nose:  Smoky wood with sweet berries.  Definitely smokey wood - the wood predominates, actually.

Taste:  Dry.  Smokiness comes through in the flavour.

Finish:  Medium tannins with a lingering smokiness.

What we say:  V - 'It's a nice combination with the smoky wood and the cherry.'  S - 'It's that familiar flavour again that I can't place.'  'It's like a bonfire.'  'It reminds me of whiskeys.  It has that sophistication about it.'  'The colour is like thick, fresh blood.'  'If you feel like a smoky wine, I say this is the one you take.'  V - 'I imagine it would be good with beef and stuff.'

What they say:  Subtle balance between fruit flavour and elegant tannins with a long finish.

Rating:  7

Price:  £8

Carmelo Ortega Saxa Loquuntur Rioja 2010 (Spain)

Nose:  Pretty dry, maybe a bit more fruity than oaky

Taste:  A little fruity, but nondescript.

Finish:  Medium tannins

What we say: S - 'Whoa!  The smell is strong - it almost punches you in the nose!'

What they say:  Nuttin'

Rating:  4

Price:  £6.99

Leroy Chevalier Puisseguin Saint-Émilion 2011 (France)

Nose:  Really light, with a tiny bit of oak

Taste:  Definitely oaky and dry

Finish:  Medium tannins, but nothing else of note

What we say:  S - 'The nose has a tiny hint of wet dog.'  V - 'This is possibly the lightest nose we've had.'  S - 'Tastes a little bit lie smokey wet dog.'  V - 'It's pretty unimpressive.  This is why we don't drink French wine.'

What they say:  Nuttin'

Rating:  3

Price:  £6.99

Les Audrelles Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (France)

Nose:  Super light.  Maybe a hint of citrus and a hint of vanilla?  Definitely pear after a while.

Taste:  Really dry and orchardy.  A little bit of sour apple juice.

Finish:  A bit perfumy in the finish?  But there's a lingering sour fruit.

What we say:  S - 'there's somethign sweet by orcahrdy to the smell.'  V - 'It's like it you have a basket of sour fruits.  That's what it takes like.'  S - 'I think it's pretty subtle  but I like it.  It's a relaxed wine for when you want to chill without the over the top flavour explosions.'  V - 'I'm less impressed.  I find it a bit dull.'

What they say:  Citrus fruit with a streak of minerality and gooseberry aromas.

Rating:  5.5 (V- 5; S - 6)

Price:  £9.99

Star & Vine Viognier 2010 (USA)

Nose:  Citrusy and vanilla.  Maybe grapefruit or lemon on the citrus end.

Taste:  Reasonably dry with lychee fruit or starfruit.  Could have some vanilla as well.

Finish:  Quite tart, couldn't decide whether there was floral or just citrus and vanilla.

What we say:  V- 'Banana??' SS - 'Definitely fruity!'  S - 'Maybe a bit like window cleaner at first, or a citrusy household cleaning product.'  J - 'Can something smell 'vigorous'??'  S - 'What was that other wine we thought tasted like lychee fruit?'

What they say:  Characteristic rose blossom, lychee, and ripe pear note, with a zingy lemon-edged acidity.

Rating:  6.6 {SS - 7.5; J - 7; S - 6; V - 6}

Price:  £9.99

Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (South Africa)

Nose:  Light and oaky, not a lot of fruitiness.  Maybe a bit smokey?

Taste:  The berries come out, unlike in the nose.  Dark red berries, but not sweet.  Still tastes a little smokey.

Finish: Some tannins, but mostly just a bit sour at the end.    

What we say:  S - 'Smells like red wine that you cook with beef - there might be a little beef in there, in fact.' 'Might be good cooking wine for beef?'  V - 'It almost has a hint of forest fire...'  S - 'I still think this would go well with beef.'  'It's not bad, nothing spectacular, but decent - slightly about average.'  V - 'Yeah, it isn't bad, but not great.'

What they say:  Wild berry, chocolate, mocha notes and a waft of vanilla on the nose.  On the palate a burst of ripe fruit complimented with delicate oak spice flavours.  Full bodies with firm yet approachable tannins.

Rating:  5.5 (S - 6; V - 5)

Cost:  £8.99

d'Arcana Pinot Grigio 2011 (Italy)

Nose:  Very light but citrusy

Taste:  Fairly dry, maybe pear

Finish:  Somewhat tart

What we say:  V - 'The nose is so light I can't really tell what's going on.'  S - 'You can't put cucumber in wine, can you?'  V - 'There's just not a lot going on here.'

What they say:  Fresh, dry and delicate with floral and citrus aromas

Rating:  4

Price:  £7.49

The Black Pig Shiraz 2010 (Australia)

Nose:  Both berry and oak, maybe with some cinnamon or cloves?  A bit of sweetness, and definitely something spicy.

Taste:  Fruity with spiciness and a bit of oak.  But still dry.

Finish:  Pretty smooth, a small hit of tannins.

What we say:  S - 'Smells like pig... hehehehe.... just joking.'  V - 'The nose is pretty balanced between the fruitiness and the oakiness.  There's also something somewhat bakey about it.'  S - 'It is sort of bakey - almost like you could eat some raw dough.'  'I think my taste buds are failing me...'  V - 'Wow, that's pretty f*cking well balanced.'

What they say: Compared their wine to their pigs, but they clearly love their pigs....

Rating: 8

Price: £10.99

Caminito Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc 2011 (Argentina)

Nose:  Potent and oaky.  Slightly sweet, some kind of berry, possibly black current.

Taste:  Oaky throughout - pretty heavy.

Finish:  Relatively tart

What we say:  L - 'Oh no, I just gave myself a mustache...'  'I like it for the TO, like Toronto!'  S - 'Oh, there, there was something there.'

What they say:  A beautiful, fragrant wine with vibrant red fruit.

Rating:  7.3 (V - 7; S - 7; L - 8)

Price:  £9.99

Le Dolci Colline Prosecco (Italy)

Nose:  Light, vaguely citrusy and sweet.  Fresh.

Taste:  Citrusy in initial flavour.  Medium-dry.  A bit of bitterness to it, like lemon rind.

Finish:  Minerally, with baked lemon rind.

What we say:  L - 'It smells like pee, but just my pee, because I pee Prosecco.'  V - 'Is there liquorice in the smell?'  L&V - 'No!'

What they say:  Oodles of apple and peach on the nose and an interesting soft finish.

Rating:  7

Price:  £8.99

Lateral Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 (Chile)

Nose:  Sweet berries, a little bit of wood

Taste:  Medium-dry, kind of non-discript.  Not particularly exciting.  Borderline light 'smooth drinking' wine.

Finish:  Minerals?  Almost no tannins.

What we say:  V - 'What's the nose?  It's a bit unusual.  There's something there that we've had before that's almost earthy.  It's almost like that weird M&S wine we had ages ago.'  S - 'Maybe something damp and wet?  Like salt water or seaweed?'  S - 'There's a mineral finish that I think is linked to the dark wet.'  'This certainly isn't one of my favourites.'  'Maybe it has Llama in it?  Could that be the wet damp?'

What they say:  Fruity and deep  with smooth tannins and a chocolatey finish.

Rating:  4.5 (S - 4; V - 5)

Price:  £6.79

Billy Bosch Pinotage-Shiraz 2012 (South Africa)

Nose:  Reasonably sweet and juicy, almost no oakiness.  Cherries

Taste:  Definitely cherry, but with something else.  Slight sweetness.

Finish:  Quite tart with long lasting tannins.

What we say:  V - 'It almost smells like dessert, or maybe cough syrup'  'Well, that's a finish that keeps going.'  S - 'What's the fuzziness of it?  It's sort of tickley on the tongue.'  'It is a bit cough-syrupy in the taste.'  V - 'It's pretty easy drinking once you get into it.'

What they say:  Perfect balance between upfront spicy red fruit flavours and wonderfully warming notes of liquorice and cherries.

Rating:  5

Price:  £8.49

Seraph Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (France)

Nose:  Quite citrusy, possibly pineapple, reasonably light.  Maybe vanilla, we weren't quite sure - something slightly sweet.

Taste:  Pretty light and smooth overall - not particularly sweet.  Definitely has citrus going on.

Finish:  Floral finish - still pretty smooth.

What we say:  S - 'Almost apple juice in the initial smell - or... coconut?'  'Yep, it's apple juice (when tasting)' 'Ah - it's flowers, it's not vanilla.  It's like perfume in the finish.'  V - 'Yeah, but you get a dominant citrus punch initially.'  S - 'Yes, but the floral finish is the second layer.'  V - 'It's true.  This is just complex enough to be more interesting than the usual wine we've been drinking.'

What they say:  Fine and minerally with intense fruit.

Rating:  6.5 (V - 7; S - 6)

Price:  £9.99