A Quartet of Wines From Around The World That Will Capture Your Heart
​February 13, 2025

In praise of love on this Valentines Day, I offer wine lovers red wines from Europe and Oregon, and although they come from different continents, they share a common thread. A dance of balance and spot on winemaking yield wines that reflect the land, from Spain’s Montsant, France’s Beaujolais, Portugal’s Alentejo, and Oregon’s Yamhill-Carlton. Here’s an exploration of four new wine ideas to grace your table anytime of year.

René Barbier and Sara Pérez, Courtesy of La Universal Wines

The La Universal 'Dido' 2021 is not for the faint of heart, a seriously mineral red wine blend of 70% Garnacha, 20% Syrah, and 10% combined Carignan, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. This interesting Spanish red is Old World and terroir-driven, its fruit springing from the granite soils of Montsant.  On the austere side, it’s moderately ripe with 12.8% alcohol, herbal and floral notes on the nose, there’s a hint of spice on the medium body and has a chalky texture. Fermented with native yeasts in 40% concrete and 60% in various sizes of oak barrels, the wine is aged for 16 months before release. Produced by rock star husband and wife winemaking team, René Barbier and Sara Pérez, this wine is named after the first queen of Carthage, Dido, notable for her tragic love story with Venus’s son Aeneus in mythology. By the way, Pérez and Barbier are the children of renowned Priorat wine pioneers, Josep Lluis Pérez of Mas Martinet and René Barbier of Clos Mogador, and have started a winemaking dynasty of their own.

Alexandre Burgaud, Courtesy of Domaine Alexandre Burgaud

The Burgaud vineyard, Courtesy of Domaine Alexandre Burgaud

​The Alexandre Burgaud ‘Lantignié’ Beaujolais Villages Rouge 2019 is also a very Old World style of wine, dense and dark-fruited with aromas of wild berries and violets, while subtle notes of spice, crushed stones and herbs accents an earthy core. Although this Gamay blend is concentrated, it’s medium body, juicy acidity and smooth tannins are well balanced, with a long mineral finish. The wine is made from old vines in the Lantignié commune, which lie on blue granite soils, and considered by many to be a future Cru for the Beaujolais region. Alexandre Burgaud is a young, up and coming winemaker, whose family has produced quality wine for over a century in the area. Alex started his own domaine in 2017, after spending four years learning Beaujolais winemaking techniques from his cousin, Jean-Marc, a top producer in Morgon. Alex doesn’t destem his grapes, he does whole bunch fermentation in concrete, followed by time in used wood before bottling, a snapshot of traditional winemaking from the past, employing semi-carbonic maceration that brings out the best of the Gamay grape.

The Alentejo estate of Herdade do Esporão, Courtesy of Herdade do Esporão

Native Portuguese grape varieties, Courtesy of Herdade do Esporão

The Esporão Monte Velho Reserva Red 2022, a blend of the native Portuguese grapes of Aragonês, Trincadeira, Syrah and Touriga Nacional, is a deeply flavored red from Alentejo. This Reserva is something new for Monte Velho, aged in used oak barrels for eight months, it is a richer expression. Intense aromas of wild berries and black plums, sweet spice and a hint of toasty oak rounds out a dense and balanced palate of ripe fruit and spice, with moderate acidity and integrated tannins, leading to a long and persistent finish. The Monte Velho label of Esporão reflects Alentejo’s 2,000-year-old winemaking traditions, made from heirloom grape varieties grown on Herdade do Esporão’s estate and small family-owned farms, where organic and sustainable practices are followed in the farming and winemaking. Each grape brings its own character to the Reserva. Touriga Nacional adds dark fruit and tannins; Aragonês (aka Tempranillo) offers red fruit and earthy, leathery notes; Syrah supplies round red fruit and aromas; and Trincadeira gives a fruity, floral character to the finished wine. The granite schist under the vines provides structure as well, adding a subtle stony quality to it. This bottle is a step up from the “Best Buy” wines that Monte Velho is known for, offering an elevated wine drinking experience that is an excellent food pair.  

Ghost Hill Cellars vineyard on top of Savannah Ridge, Courtesy of Ghost Hill Cellars

Five clones of Pinot Noir are planted on the Bayliss farm, Courtesy of Ghost Hill Cellars

Pinot Noir vineyard, Courtesy of Ghost Hill Cellars

Cameron Bower and Bernadette Bayliss, Courtesy of Ghost Hill Cellars

And from the Old World to the New, Ghost Hill Cellars Bayliss-Bower Yamhill-Carlton Pinot Noir 2022 will capture your heart with a lighter style. Aromas of red and dark cherry, floral and mineral notes, and a whiff of forest floor wrap around a core of cherry and raspberry fruit, its vibrant acidity and fine tannins make for a very good food pairing wine. This Pinot blossoms like a flower in the glass, if you can wait a few minutes. Ghost Hill Cellars is a project of the Bayliss-Bower family, named for the legend of a gold prospector who was robbed and killed in the 1850s Oregon Gold Rush, and whose ghost continues to wander the hill on the Bayliss farm, looking for his stolen gold. The Bayliss family have owned the 234 acre farm in Willamette Valley since 1906, and were originally focused on farming. But they found themselves “land rich and cash poor” in the 1990s, when they discovered that they were sitting on a gold mine, with the Willakenzie soils a perfect cradle for Pinot Noir. Vineyards were planted on sixteen acres, with five different clones of Pinot Noir, and the first 100% estate grown vintage was made in 2006. Today’s winemaker, Eric Hamacher, creates very Burgundian style wines, letting the fruit shine with noticeably less oak, producing four different versions of their Pinot Noir. The fourth and fifth generations of the Bayliss family are working together to make their vineyard and wines a success, launching a modern farmhouse-style hospitality center for tastings and events, with Bernadette Bayliss and her husband, Cameron Bower, leading the charge, keeping it all in the family.

La Universal 'Dido'

Alexandre Burgaud 'Lantignié' Beaujolais Villages

Esporão Monte Velho Reserva Red

Ghost Hill Cellars Bayliss-Bower Pinot Noir

For more information on these wines, here are the links,
​
La Universal 'Dido', https://www.skurnik.com/sku/montsant-dido-venus-la-universal-4-2-2-3-2-2-2-2/
Alexandre Burgaud 'Lantignié', https://vntgimports.com/wines/alexandre-burgaud-lantignie-beaujolais-villages-rouge/
Monte Velho Reserva Red, https://montevelho.com/en/
Ghost Hill Cellars Pinot Noir, https://www.ghosthillcellars.com/product/2019-bayliss-bower-pinot-noir-duplicate1/