Jean Leon Homage a La Scala Dinner

Note that Matkontoret has closed permanently.

First of all: thanks for the invitation from Vinkontoret to join in on the Jean Leon Homage a La Scala Dinner event at Matkontoret . As you have seen in my previous postings, Vinkontoret is a great place to head to taste wines by the glass – and Matkontoret is a gem where you can enjoy good food.

I was not that familiar with Jean Leon before this event but apparently, he was born in Spain, moved to the US and got into the circle of Frank Sinatra, James Dean etc, started a restaurant called La Scala in Hollywood and then moved into wine making in Spain to produce wines for his restaurant in the US. This dinner was aiming to recreate some of the menu at La Scala and allowing us to taste some of the Jean Leon wines.

We started out the 3055 Rose as an aperitif before we got Lobster bisque and a crab cake. The crab cake was delicious, and I don’t think I have had it since I stopped by Sausalito outside San Francisco a few years back. The lobster bisque was also lovely, but it should have been warmer! We got two wines for each dish and that really gives you the possibility to smell and taste the difference! For the soup it was 3055 Chardonnay and the Vinya Gigi Chardonnay 2018.

We moved on to pappardelle with wild boar and beef ragu. I loved the ragu on this dish and it looks like they used a bit of time to make it – a good ragu needs to simmer for a few hours! With this dish we got the 3055 Merlot Petit Verdot 2019 and Vinya Pilau Merlot 2017 and again we could explore the difference is smell and taste.

As a main we got a rib eye steak with a rich, intense sauce served with a fluffy potato mash and vegetables. The steak was flavorful, but I would have preferred it more medium instead of well done. They brought out the big wines for this dish and we got Vinya Le Havre Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2016 and Vinya La Scala Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva 2013. Both big wines with lots of tannins, rich and concentrated. Vinya La Scala was intense, and it would be interesting to taste it after a few more years in the wine cellar.

We rounded of the evening with a tiramisu, but we were already getting quite full as there was quite a lot of food on the menu. Thanks for a great night to Vinkontoret and Matkontoret.