Jean Leon

On Friday, September 30, 1955, tragedy stepped into Jean León’s life again. He received a message about James Dean’s accidental death. They were due to sign the contract of sale for the new restaurant on the following Monday. Jean León, however, decided to fulfill their mutual dream. He financed the founding of the restaurant through loan, and on April 1, 1956, La Scala opened its doors in Beverly Hills.

The life of Jean León is the wine world’s most incredible success story.  

It is a breathtaking story of a boy who had lived an insecure childhood, who runs away from home, travels unbeknownst to himself as a stowaway to the United States, finds himself fighting in the Korean War, entertains Hollywood film stars and presidents in Beverly Hills, and returns to his roots in Catalonia to produce celebrated wines from illegally imported vines.

Respected wines are still produced under his name, a book has been written about him and a film starring Dennis Hopper, Paul Newman and Robert Wagner has been directed about him. How did Jean León find his way from rags to riches, and how did his dreams become true?

Jean León was born into a poor northern Spanish family in 1928. He was given the name Ceferino Carrión. Life showed its shadowy side to Ceferino and his eight siblings when the family lost all its possessions in the destructive fire in their home town of Santander in 1941. The family moved to Barcelona where the father and the older brother got work on a fishing boat. Only two months later Ceferino received shocking news – his father and brother’s boat had been torpedoed, and all the crew members had died.

Mired in poverty, Ceferino decided to pack his bags when he was 19 and leave his mother and seven siblings in Barcelona. With three friends he traveled to Paris, where he worked as a waiter and interpreter. After two years spent in Paris, the friends intended to continue their journey to Guatemala. In Le Havre, Ceferino was missing a document, which he was forced to retrieve from Paris in order to board the ship. Upon his return, the ship and his friends had left. After he had tried to get on seven ships, pretending to be a crew member, he finally hid as a stowaway in the cargo hold of one of them. Soon Cefarino was, unbeknownst to him, on his way to New York. Thanks to help from a crew member, he was able to enter the country without papers aided by the four English phrases he had learned.

In New York, he found his way to the bar of his father’s second cousin and took on work as a dishwasher. After only two months spent in New York, he was robbed. After losing all his personal papers, he began using the name Justo Ramón León. A week later, he found work at a club restaurant in Rockefeller Center. He picked up dirty plates for the salary of four dollars a day. Customers made the work interesting. Daily he met high-ranking politicians and celebrities, the most famous of whom was

Bing Crosby. After working in Rockefeller Center for half a year, León leaves the job. The constant fear of authorities and hiding from them made him travel to Los Angeles. 

Hollywood’s show business glamour greatly fascinated the young Spaniard. He believed that all is possible in the city of the stars, also for him. To fulfill his dream he needed to get United States citizenship. The Korean War offered a solution to the problem. Americans were drafting volunteer soldiers for the war that began in 1950, and these soldiers were rewarded the country’s citizenship for their bravery. Should he survive the war, he could legally return to his new native country.

Few can say that they emerged from the Korean War as a victor, but Ceferino Carrión, who fought for two years, can. He returned and received a lawful life in Hollywood. Along with the big change and going with the spirit of the times, he also decided to change his name along with his nationality. From 1953 onwards, he was known by the name Jean León.

James Dean and Jean León quickly became best friends. James Dean promised to be the godfather of Jean León’s first born, and soon they were planning a restaurant together in Beverly Hills. While Jean León managed practical matters regarding finding the restaurant, James Dean financed the project.

On Friday, September 30, 1955, tragedy stepped into Jean León’s life again. He received a message about James Dean’s accidental death. They were due to sign the contract of sale for the new restaurant on the following Monday. Jean León, however, decided to fulfill their mutual dream. He financed the founding of the restaurant through loan, and on April 1, 1956, La Scala opened its doors in Beverly Hills.

After Jean León had reached the position of a respected restaurateur, he developed a new dream – his own wine.

While searching for a vineyard around the world, he turned to the University of California, Davis, Professor Maynard Amerine, a viticulture specialist, and to Beaulieu’s famous wine maker André Tchelistcheff for help. Consulted by them, he finally found a vineyard in Spain. In 1963, he bought 150 hectares of extremely calcareous loam soil on a slope gently descending southward in Catalonia’s heartland. After this, he was faced with finding the best grapevines. He traveled together with his winemaker Jaume Rovira to the best regions in France. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines were brought from Château Lafite-Rothschild and Château Lagune in Bordeaux. The Chardonnay vines, for their part, were brought from the Corton-Charlemagne vineyard in Burgandy. In addition, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir vines were brought along.

The borders of nationalist Spain governed by Franco were tightly guarded, and the men knew they placed themselves at great risk when smuggling French varieties into the country. At the border, he lied convincingly that he was transporting garden plants to his back yard. He planted the first French varieties in Catalonia in 1963. The next year, he built a modern winery equipped with the latest technology imitating Bordeaux château concepts. The philosophy of the wines was based on the wines of one vineyard. Cabernet Sauvignon was chosen as the flagship of the vineyard, and it was planted on the 8-hectare La Scala plot. It was produced only during the best years, of which the first vintage which was 1969. To raise the wines on a pedestal that they deserved, Jean León asked Catalonian artists to paint the labels. These collectors bottles have been produced only in the years 1979, 1994, 1996 and 1997. Since the beginning, Jean León’s wines have been awarded numerous prizes. Jean León’s Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva 1983 was ranked by International Wine Magazine as one of the eight best wines in the world. His wines have become famous for their exceptionally long ageing potential.

Jean León returned to the United States and continued to grow his restaurant business. In the beginning of the 1990s, life, however, once again showed its shadowy side to Jean León – now for the last time. His condition weakened, and the reason turned out to be a malignant tumor in his throat. The treatments were begun too late, and after two unsuccessful operations he was said to have only a few more years left to live.

He gave up his restaurants and searched for a successor for his vineyard. The pioneer of Catalonia’s wine production, Miguel Torres, bought the vineyard in 1995. The men made a gentlemen’s deal that Torres would continue Jean León’s production as an independent, separate from Torres’ brand. Jaume Rovira, who had made wine for Jean León for over 30 years, continued his long career under Torres with Miguel Torres Jr. 

After giving up all material things, Jean León fulfilled his last dream. He bought a big sailing yacht, which he named La Scala a Mare, and spent his last living days sailing the worlds’ seas.

Jean León lived an eventful life. Even though he gave up everything, he left a success story as a legacy for future generations. A story which makes us believe that everything is possible.

Jean Leon wines were precursors of what we now call Single Vineyard Wines (Vi de Finca in Catalan). This designation, issued by the Catalan government, guarantees that the wine originates in a specific vineyard and displays a unique personality born from the interplay of the soil, the vines, the microclimate and the work carried out in the vineyard.

Our Vinya La Scala Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva, Vinya Le Havre Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva, Vinya Palau Merlot and Vinya Gigi Chardonnay are the first wines in the Penedès, and the second in all of Catalonia, to receive the Single Vineyard Wine designation.

Characteristics of a Single Vineyard Wine:

• Grapes grown in a specific area and microclimate.
• Produced and bottled on the estate.
• Highly ranked appellation of origin (the vineyard is an appellation in and of itself).
• Documented processes in accordance with the appellation of origin or the advisory board.
• Vine age: minimum 5 years.
• Tastings governed by stricter rating criteria. Specific committee set up within the appellation.
• Vineyard yields are 15% lower than in the rest of the appellation.
• Maximum yield of 650 ml per kilo.
• Wine is exclusively barrel-aged.
• Wine producer must be a well-established brand with an excellent reputation.

Through Jean León’s actor contacts, the small restaurant became the meeting place for Hollywood society. Famous actors, directors, influential producers and politicians all dined at La Scala.

Marilyn Monroe always arrived when the restaurant opened its doors at 5:30 p.m. and always sat in table number 14. Paul Newman, for his part, always arrived at around 7:30 p.m. The most difficult customer at La Scala was Humphrey Bogart, who after dinner would regularly end up brawling and loudly bashing Hollywood directors and producers. Warren Beatty, for his part, would always enjoy his dinner in the kitchen while dining alone. Other famous customers include Zsa Zsa Gabor, Fred Astaire, Marlon Brando, Robert Wagner and Gary Cooper.

Jean León, who had become a famous restaurateur, quickly became acquainted also with American presidents from Lyndon B. Johnson to Ronald Reagan. He witnessed Richard Nixon’s election loss together with Nixon. He met John F. Kennedy every time Kennedy visited Los Angeles. He praised President Ford as the friendliest of all the presidents he had met, and with Ronald Reagan he shared a mutual passion for wine. According to Ronald Reagan’s wishes, Jean León’s wines were served at White House functions.

Marilyn’s death

Tragic events in Jean León’s close circle repeated themselves in 1962.

In the evening of August 4, he received a phone call from Marilyn Monroe. She said she was not feeling well and asked Jean to bring her food to her home in Brentwood. When he delivered the food to Marilyn, she was accompanied by a man whom Jean León told he recognized as Robert Kennedy. The next morning Marilyn was found dead in her home. Jean León remained silent on the matter to avoid trouble. He was too closely connected to the Kennedys and to Sinatra, around whom rumors swirled.

Jean León successfully continued the operations of La Scala, and in time it developed into an indisputable Hollywood classic, which was capitalized on in extremely popular bestseller books.