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New Taste

Published:  16 June, 2009

Claire Hu reviews the latest drinks releases.

Sensible drinking is at the top of the agenda for design agency, Barlow Doherty with its new wine brand concept Birds & Bees.
The two products in the range are a Malbec and a blended white both with an alcohol content of 10%.
Producer Trivento arrests fermentation early to give a natural sweetness. The brand name is designed to hint at honey, nectar, nature and nurture and is aimed at a female 25-55 target market.
The basics: RRP £4.99 50cl, or £6.99 for 75cl. Enquiries Barlow Doherty.



Using all natural fruit and flowers Belvedere Black Raspberry is a luxury vodka brand with a new maceration style.
Hand harvested berries are collected from the Podlasie region of northeast Poland, which are then blended with French blackcurrants and rosewater.
The fruit is then macerated for a minimum of one month.
Its target audience are luxury retailers, style bars and members clubs.
The basics: £29.99 Moët Hennessy.




Vinea Reserva 2003 is made from hand-sorted Tempranillo grapes harvested from 60-year-old vines in Cigales,  an emerging Spanish wine region.
According to stockists Bottle Green it has  aromas of, "jam and ripe fruits and smoky cigar tones the palate is meaty and voluminous, with a very long finish".
The basics: £11.99, Bottle Green.



With consumers continuing to tighten their belts, First Drinks has launched a 35cl variant of Russian Standard premium vodka which will help, "allow consumers to purchase premium brands at a lower than normal price."
It joins Glenfiddich, Grant's and Three Barrels in offering smaller bottle sizes to customers, with a particular focus on the convenience sector.
Basics: £7.49 RSP First Drinks.



Blue Nun is going bling with a Gold version which contains fine flakes of 22-carat gold leaf.
Naturally effervescent as a result of secondary fermentation it's lower in alcohol at 11% and has 34 g/l residual sugar. 
Blue Nun Gold will be available in 75cl and 20cl bottles and is expected to appeal to the impulse and on-trade sectors and women.
The basic: £7.99, no stockists yet



Liberty wines is the exclusive distributor for the UK of Innocent Bystander, a Yarra Valley wine from Victoria.
The Innocent Bystander features a Pinot Gris 2008, Chardonnay 2007, Pinot Noir 2008 and Shiraz/Viognier 2006 and a Pink Moscato 2009.
Proprietor Phil Sexton and winemaker Steve Flamsteed joined forces in 2003 and Sexton said: "We want to try to encourage  buyers to try something a little different.
"The range is a mix of the tried and tested and the new and quirky such as the Pinot Gris and Pink Moscato that highlights the cool climate of Victoria."
The basics: £9.99, RRP Pink Moscato £5.99 37.5 cl, Liberty Wines

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