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.
...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 lo...
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 Reserv...
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 dinn...
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