The innovation with this wine is that it comes not just in a plastic bottle (Sainsbury’s introduced this idea as far back as 2007 with their own-label wines in traditional shaped wine bottles made of plastic) but in a FLAT clear plastic wine bottle. It looks odd but there is a reason for this – the company behind the bottle design originally used it to send wines through the post that could go through a standard letterbox. The shape has remained but now it’s on the shelves at the Co-op. So what’s it like to handle and pour from this slim-line screw capped container? The feel is silky and sensual thanks to the soft choice of plastic but pouring it feels rather odd – there is no counterbalance from a weighty thick base which would be the case if pouring from a glass bottle. As the wine moves up the now angled plastic container, the pouring action makes the bottle feel top heavy so making it difficult to avoid splashing wine around. But what of the wine inside? It’s your standard fruity Australian Merlot with blackberry jam flavours made fresher with raspberry and damson. There’s also a good pinch of cinnamon spice and some pencil shavings. Not too sweet.
