Not decanted but poured into a glass for half an hour before drinking. Not much nose at first but it opened up somewhat later on. Medium body, nice core of fruit with an appealing mineral undertone. Nice grip and structure. May benefit from some additional short term cellaring. I agree with the WS rating of 90. 1/3 Cab, 1/3 Merlot, Cab Franc and Malbec round out the blend.

Woof,Woof.

Mr. Q,

I am serving the 98 at one of our upcoming tastings. Are you familiar with other vintages? I find the pickings slim when it comes to South African cabs and, from what little experience I have with these, this seems to be one of the best out there.

Bay Area Wine Project
www.bawineproject.com

Steven, I'd suggest to try Neil Ellis Cabernet Sauvignon 1999

I must have been a root louse in a past life....

Steven, this is the first South African wine I have had in my life, so I am not a good source of information. But it is a well made wine. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the '98.

Phyll,

Thanks for the tip. I'll try the wine and may include it in our international cab tasting.

Mr. Q, I'll post the notes after the tasting on March 25th.

Steve

Bay Area Wine Project
www.bawineproject.com

Steven,
Mulderbosch is one of the better vinters in SA, especially the Faithful Hound and the Chard.

I have have all of the vintages from 95 on. I particularly liked the 96 and the 97. If I remember correctly, the 98 was good, but not great. But it should be be nice treat for around $20.

Please post TN.

Doc

I would say that the best wine from Mulderbosch is their Sauvignon Blanc. That is the their specialty. Their Steen op Hout (chenin blanc) is also a very special wine if you wanna try something different.

The best South African wines as I see it is:

Rust en Vrede Estate Wine (esp 96 adn 98)
Kanonkop Paul Sauer (esp 98)
Thelema Cab Sauv (esp 97)
Stellenzicht Syrah (esp 98)
Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir (esp 97 and 00)
Fairview Primo Pinotage (esp 00)

Thanks for all the notes on South African wines... Any Tn's for Kanoncop Paul Sauer '92 and Mulderbosch Faithful Hound 95. Have a few of these in the cellar and can't seem to find my notes on them. Thanks, Lance

I would definitely drink the Paul Sauer 1992 in the near future. It was not a bad vintage, but neither a very good one. It will probably be good now, but I doubt it will be better. I had one a year ago and it was very good.

The Faithful Hound is not known to have as much staying power as the Paul Sauer, and I will probably drink that quite soon. But I haven´t tried that one.

Thanks, Swede... Actually popped the cork on the 95 Faithful Hound last night. Started out with a very gamey, leathery taste and as it unfolded through 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' it actually threw out some nice fruit. Definatly going to open the other one soon as this wine does not have too much left and will probably have it with some other movie another night. By the way the Ouzo scene in "Greek Wedding" brought back memories as an 18 year old first discovering liquor (and Ouzo) in Greece. I remember floating on my back offshore one of the Greek Islands staring at the stars.. To this day I say Ouzo should be classified as a narcotic. Thanks again for the reply... Lance