Mulderbosch Faithful Hound 2004

The plum and peppery spice nose of this Bordeaux-style red blend leads into approachable flavors of plum, vanilla oak and currants. The wine offers elegant tannins and a smooth finish.

Glossy ruby color with a cerise rim. A mixed bag of concentrated blackcurrant, coffee, forest-floor fruit and nutmeg aromas. Voluptuous flavors of ripe plum and intense blackberry combine with subtle wood vanillins to give the wine its lovely complexity.

Produced for a blend of 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 17% Malbec, and 12% Cabernet Franc, the 2000 Faithful Hound offers a spicy nose of ripe black fruits. On the palate, this wine is fresh, bright and expressive. Black currants and tangy dark cherries are found in its rustic character. Drink it over the next 6 years.

A Bordeaux blend based on 42% Merlot and 36% Cabernet Sauvignon. Medium red. Plum, chocolate, truffle, licorice, mint and tobacco on the nose. Broad, ripe and a bit reduced, with flavors of blackberry, rd currant, truffle, smoke and tobacco. A classically dry Bordeaux blend, but the tannins are nicely sweet.

Full-bodied, with ripe currant and blackberry flavors that grip the palate. Toast, spice and sweet smoke enhance without intruding. Solid, juicy finish. Great fruit in a well-balanced package. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2004.

The ruby-colored 1996 Faithful Hound reveals a spicy, roasted bell pepper and blackberry-scented nose. It is foursquare, somewhat warm, packed with dark berry fruit (including cassis and plum), and has an appealingly long finish. It should be at its best between 2001 and 2004.

Elegant, with a lovely beam of raspberry fruit along with mineral, dried herb and cocoa notes as well. Just a touch firm on the finish, so let this flesh out fully. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2006.