The incredible story of Jean Leon
The story of Jean Leon should really be made into a film. The title? The Hollywood legend of a Spanish winemaker. Because Jean Leon’s story is too extraordinary not to appear on the big screen. He was friends with James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy, ran Hollywood’s most popular restaurant and made his own wine. And those wines are just as extraordinary as his life story.
The life of the Spanish Jean Leon (1929-1996), or rather Ceferino Carrión, as he was really called, began in the port city of Santander. When a major fire destroyed a large part of Santander’s historic centre in 1941, the Carrión family moved to Barcelona. But at nineteen, Ceferino wanted to leave Spain and seek out the great adventure. Ceferino wanted to go to America, the promised land.
From taxi driver to soldier in Korea
Neither money nor a residence permit could keep him in Spain: he was determined to leave for New York. After failing seven times to board a ship as a stowaway, he succeeded on the eighth attempt. Once in the Big Apple, he had several jobs, including taxi driver, before enlisting in the US Army. He invented a new name, Jean Leon, fought in Korea, survived and earned his residence permit through his service to the land of unlimited possibilities.
James Dean and Marilyn Monroe
Jean Leon then left for the West Coast. There he got a job at the legendary Villa Capri restaurant in Los Angeles, run by none other than Ol’ Blue Eyes’ Frank Sinatra and baseball legend Joe DiMaggio. And everyone who was anyone in the 1950s could frequently be found at Villa Capri. Jean Leon became friends with stars such as James Dean and Grace Kelly, and in 1956 he opened his own restaurant with James Dean: La Scala. It quickly became the new hotspot in Beverly Hills. Marilyn Monroe often ate there. Jean Leon even served her last meal at home—and was questioned by the FBI the following day; he was one of the last people to see her alive.
Truffle pasta and top wines
Jean Leon was also the first person in America to serve white truffles and fresh pasta in his restaurant. And of course you don’t drink a Coke with that. Jean Leon knew better: good food calls for good wine, which gave him the idea of making his own wine. Not in America, but in his homeland of Spain. He found the perfect place in Torrelavit, 50 kilometres west of Barcelona. He replaced the local grape varieties with well-known French varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Remarkably, he was the first winemaker in Spain to plant French grapes in the sacred soil of Spain.
Friends with Torres
Around that time, in the mid-1960s, Jean Leon became friends with Miguel Torres Sr. of the large and successful Bodegas Torres winery. That friendship endured, even when Jean Leon became terminally ill and decided to sell his vineyards to Torres in 1994. At Torres, they cherish Jean Leon’s legacy, and I am very grateful for that, because I love Jean Leon’s wines. Would you also like to bring a touch of Hollywood into your home? These are my favourite Jean Leon wines.
Jean Leon 3055 Rosé 2019
I recently tasted Jean Leon’s rosé in a wine tasting featuring Provence rosés and was once again pleasantly surprised by this Spanish gem. Everyone seems to want to drink only salmon-coloured Provence rosé, but this rosé—which also happens to be very light in colour—is genuinely delicious too! With grilled tuna, for example, or sushi. The number on the bottle, 3055, refers to the number of the taxi Jean Leon drove for a while when he had just arrived in New York. Available via perfectewijn, €12.99.
Jean Leon Vinya Gigi Chardonnay 2017
This Chardonnay, aged for six months in French oak, is particularly popular in our household. The wine is made in the Gigi vineyard, named after Jean Leon’s daughter. As soon as you uncork the bottle, tropical aromas (a hint of apricot, a suggestion of peach, some mango and citrus) come towards you—and that’s only the beginning. This is a real joy to drink. So soft, so aromatic, so elegant. A fine wine to drink on its own, but perfect with food too. I recently drank it with a dish of mussels with curry mayonnaise, Vichyssoise (a thick soup made from cooked and puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream and chicken stock), and it was delicious! Available via perfectewijn, €21.95.
Jean Leon Vinya La Scala Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva 2012
Vinya La Scala is named after Jean Leon’s famous restaurant in Hollywood. This exceptional wine is not made every year, but only when the harvest in the La Scala vineyard is exceptionally good. After the harvest, only the perfect grapes are selected and transported to the winery in small crates, after which the juice ages for 24 months in French oak barrels. The wine then ages in the bottle for at least another three years before it reaches the shops. It costs a bit, but you get what you pay for: this is a truly complex wine in which you can detect everything from dark fruit to leather. A big wine, certainly, but with a gentle character. The 2013 vintage is available via perfectewijn, €39.95.
Jean Leon 3055 Xarel Lo 2019
Jean Leon also makes wines from typical Spanish grapes, such as this white wine made from the indigenous Catalan grape variety Xarel-lo. A fresh and full-bodied wine that is truly delicious with Asian dishes. This wine can easily handle a bit of spice! Available via perfectewijn, €16.95.
