Leah Jørgensen Cellars Wine Dinner
This past Sunday I made the trek to Washington DC to attend a wine dinner featuring the wines from none other than Oregon’s Cabernet Franc queen Leah Jørgensen of Leah Jørgensen Cellars. The dinner was hosted by The Duck & The Peach in DC’s Capitol Hill neighbourhood, a women-owned, seasonally-minded restaurant known for dishes from locally-sourced ingredients and a wine list focused on women in wine.
I’ve been following Leah for some time now, but up until Sunday, I had only tasted her flagship Cabernet Franc, which is one of my all time favourite Cabernet Francs produced in the US. Sunday was my opportunity to meet Leah for the first time and learn more about her philosophy in vineyard and the cellar.
Leah launched her winery in 2011 to focus on and celebrate her favourite grape variety - Cabernet Franc. Over the last decade, she has quickly earned the reputation of being the specialist for the variety in Oregon, making several examples of Cab Franc every vintage. Leah has a way with Cabernet Franc that not only demonstrates her passion for this grape variety but also a deep understanding of how the variety needs to be cared for from vine to bottle in order to express the relationship between grape and place in the glass.
Sourcing her Cabernet Franc fruit from the Rogue and Applegate Valleys in Southern Oregon, Leah is as meticulous and detail-oriented as they get when it comes to viticulture and Cabernet Franc. All of her vineyard sources are LIVE certified, and many are practicing organic. She explained to me on Sunday that she only works with growers who are willing to give her the control to manage the vines the way she needs in order to make high quality single-varietal Cabernet Franc. Decisions like yield, canopy management, vine balance, harvest decisions are in her hands so that she can achieve her ideal expression of Cabernet Franc. She also noted that most growers in Oregon will cultivate Cabernet Franc to be used as a blending partner in Bordeaux-style blends, which can put less of an emphasis on achieving vine balance which helps to minimize the pyrazines, and these grapes are often picked at higher ripeness levels.
Leah has the expression "C’est Loiregon” on her back labels - her nod to producing Loire-inspired Cabernet Franc from Oregon terroir, and this Loire inspiration informs her decisions in the vineyard and the cellar. She will pick her fruit based on acidities and often earlier in order to achieve freshness and vibrancy in the finished wines. In the cellar, for each of her wines, she has an end goal in mind as to the wine she wants to achieve based on the site and getting the highest quality expression from a given vineyard. She will adapt her winemaking approach from vintage to vintage and block to block in order in order to best marry vineyard and wine style. Her goal is to eventually establish her own vineyard, but for the moment she has yet to find her ideal site to plant Cabernet Franc.
While Cabernet Franc represents a very small piece of the Oregon viticultural landscape, the grape has found a most enthusiastic flag bearer in Leah Jørgensen. Leah’s passion for the grape jumps out of every glass with expressions of Cabernet Franc that are thoughtful, well-made, soulful, and showcase an authentic grape and place relationship.
Notes on wines tasted during the dinner:
2020 Rosé of Cabernet Franc - This fruit from the Lakeside Vineyard in the Rogue Valley is managed in the vineyard specifically for rosé. Direct press, stainless steel with a touch of lees stirring. This is classic Cabernet Franc rosé with delicate herbal/vegetal nuances like chervil and cucumber, along with plush orchard fruits, zesty grapefruit and berries. A perfect food wine with a great back bone of acidity balanced by a round middle palate. This was paired with a classic fattoush salad. (SRP $22USD)
2020 Blanc de Franc - Leah’s signature and a very serious wine. Applegate Valley fruit that is sourced from the organically farmed Mae’s Vineyard. Aged in acacia barrels for delicacy, this white expression of Cab Franc was a highlight for me. Floral, structured, with fleshy white fruits, sweet citrus, cilantro. Sufficient concentration and acidity for short term aging. This was a highlight of the evening. Without a doubt the best example of a still blanc de noir from the grape I’ve had. Paired with a hamachi crude with cucumber and avocado purée. (SRP $40USD)
2016 “Côt” Malbec - Sourced from the Crater View Ranch vineyard in the Rogue Valley. This was a surprise for me. As someone who rarely (read: never!) drinks Malbec, this is a wine that I can get behind. Reminiscent of examples of Côt I’ve had from the Loire, it was fruit-forward, with plenty of those burly dark-fruited notes (blackberry, black plum) that Malbec is known for with bold spice, sturdy tannins and great freshness. I can imagine that this might’ve been a bit unapproachable in its youth, but with 5+ years of aging, this wine was singing. Paired with slow smoked lamb shoulder with mint chimichurri. (SRP $30USD)
2019 ‘Tour Rain’ - 60% Cabernet Franc, 40% Gamay. The Cabernet Franc is sourced from the Rogue Valley and the Gamay from the Willamette Valley. Soft, juicy, spicy, highlighting the best of each grape in the blend. The herbaceousness of the Cab Franc was supported nicely by the more overt fruit of the Gamay. A perfect summer red that can be chilled, paired with just about anything or enjoyed on its own. (SRP $25USD)
