Jane Brocket
Master of Wine and freelance wine consultant
I have to confess that ever since my youth the phrase 'French kiss' has belonged only in the agony aunt columns of trashy teen mags and nowhere else ­ certainly not on the label of a bottle of wine. And my advice to any reader would be to keep your lips tightly pursed for this kiss. The wine, unlike the name, packaging and copy, isn't awful but it is completely the wrong product for the brand. Instead of a warm, gently fruity and, dare I say, sensual wine, you get rustic, hard, dry wine with a bitter finish. It's totally French, of course, but more like an unwanted bristly peck than a true French kiss. Rating out of 25 ­ 3
Simon Massey
Brand director of Nine Yards
This bottle just made me laugh. What a name for a bottle of wine and the back label was just hilarious. Written in the first person, describing itself as a long lingering caress, very sexual, very witty, very tongue-in-cheek. However, I'm not sure that it is! I think this is serious, in which case it's the naffest of the naff! The design on the front tries to be clever, a kiss which looks like a shape until you look closely, but it has been done before. The wine isn't bad, but I'd be surprised if anyone got close enough to find that out. A comedy wine for a girls' night in, but little more than that. Rating out of 25 ­ 8
Steve Mayes
Trading controller at Landmark
Mont Tauch produces excellent wines and currently has many exciting initiatives underway. French Kiss is no exception and appears to have all the ingredients for success. The design has received many plaudits and the wine is well-balanced, subtle, silky and fruity and not as austere as a typical Corbieres and thus very attractive to a wider audience. The pricing and margins seem to stack up and the market for quality novelty wines is ripe. A reliable source has confirmed that this is the first of a series of wines that are planned to have equally evocative names. Rating out of 25 ­ 24
Total score out of 100 ­ 49

{{DRINKS }}

Topics