Christine Havens

8.9

One of the better in the under $20 Oregon Pinot category I've tasted of late, the 2014 Pike Road is an off shoot winery managed by the Elk Cove team. Replete with twiggy black tea notes, rose petals, cranberry compote, iron ore and dried blood, it's clean and linear on the palate, more red fruited than black, with bright acidity that dwindles to a slightly herbaceous, rustic finish of fresh bark dust, spice, and mulch. Sample — 10 years ago

Rebecca Fletcher

9.0

Deep ruby, dark dark fruit, blackberry, black cherry, sage and tobacco. M+ tannin. — 11 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.5

Black fruits, smoky, road tar, gravelly , mocha, graphite, violets, licorice, chalky, very La Mish like. This has really taken off and is just reaching its plateau. Wow was this good! — 11 years ago

John Kemper

9.9

A saturated ruby, the'02 Martinelli Syrah 'Hop Barn Hill' is a Cote Rôtie knock-off with gorgeous scents of bacon fat, blackberry liqueur, licorice and mocha. Super concentrated flavors of ripe, floral, black fruits lead to a smooth finish of extended length. Simply WOW! — 13 years ago

Zachary Price

8.9

The Foxen Volpino, or "little fox", is a 78% Sangiovese - 22% Merlot blend. The merlot hails from Vogelzang located in Happy Canyon AVA, but I'm not sure where the sangiovese is sourced. Either way, the wine is one of the 7200's "caltalian" blends that, if available, can be poured for you in the winery's "Shack" tasting room. The shack is an adorable bare bones structure located off the Foxen Canyon Road surrounded by old world charms and stunning vistas, full of sassy sommeliers and attendants. Not fined or filtered, the grapes and barrels do the talking and deliver a fine new world example of an old world staple. ~$32 | #foxen #volpino #caltalian

On the eyes: Bright, garnet, burnt orange color, med+ stain, med+ tears, no gas, floc present.

On the nose: Vinous, cassis, blackberry, tobacco, mint, hints of petrol, med+ alcohol.

On the tongue: high acid, med+ tannin, med+ alcohol, med round body. Juicy, black cherry, current jam, a tinge of pressed meats, then leather yielding to oak and smoke. A very serviceable table wine - still young, wait another a year or two as it starts to come into its own. — 10 years ago

jonathan Hamcock

9.7

Tastes of yellow seed grass with hints of plastic. Fantastic! The flavour is beyond delectable. It just tickles my fancy like no other. It swims down your throat like a yellowfin tuna swimming downstream the St. Lawrence River. Sometimes i dream of this wine while watching the stars on my private island. — 11 years ago

Kevin Walsh

Wine blogger doxologywine.com; Freelance Sommelier (Court of Master Sommeliers) Doxology Wine Consulting

8.9

2008. Dried cherry, black tea, dried mushroom and rose, prosciutto. Minerality is reminiscent of standing on a dry, dusty dirt road. Only criticism is that it falls off in the mid palate, but finishes with a nice gamey note. — 12 years ago

David Kline

8.9

Lavender heavy on the nose, tarragon and charred sapling on river water surface. Grape-y, but earlier it was grape lip gloss and nail polish. It has since cast off the acrid robe to reveal a softer side. Herbaceous to be sure with purple sage, rosemary and orange mint. Soft and black- plummy but silky and layered. Good depth at this price point. — 10 years ago

with Courtney

Matt Trader

9.2

Still haven't had a wine made by Jo Freeman that I wasn't impressed by. Gorgeous dark purple color, with a highly aromatic nose, and notes of coffee, rich in blueberries and black berries with a round off of red currant, delicately wrapped in vanilla, spice, passing over the pallet in fine silk with a mild tannin, and ending in a finesse of mocha and creme-de-casis. The alcohol content is well under 14%, making it easy to drink by itself, especially after half an hour of decantering. Had half the bottle at home and half the bottle at a family owned Greek restaurant with a grilled lamb dish and it was perfect! I definitely want to try any other cabs he has crafted! Bravo! — 11 years ago

Carlos Mata

9.4

Slightly opaque ruby with soft transparency. Medium to full intensity aromas of black truffles and dirt covered raspberries and red licorice; quite sensational. Very decisive entrance of wild berries, eucaliptus, sage and pomegranate jam flavors. This wine is quite young. Its tannis show off to some degree in the third quarter, sharing its space with the wine's very delicious acidity. Not too polished, but not offensive at all. In fact, quite fun and entertaining. However, the best of this wine is its endless and very seductive finish of sensational red cherry infused tobacco leaf, and grainy texture. Quite dry!! Cellar this wine for another 8 to 10 years. 93 pts. — 12 years ago