Explore Oregon Wines: Wineries | Varietals | AVAs | Cellar 503 Selections
Leah Jørgensen Cellars 2019 “Tour Rain” Vin Rouge
Welcome to Loiregon!
Some winemakers are dabblers, experimenting with lots of grape varietals, tinkering with taste profiles. That’s not Leah Jorgensen.
Leah knows exactly what she wants to make, and her passion shines through. It’s Cabernet Franc. Specifically, Cab Franc produced like that found in France’s Loire Valley.
It all started in Washington DC, a town known for its wine consumption, not wine production. But Leah represented an importer of extraordinary suite of Loire Valley wines and shopped them to embassies, fancy restaurants, and high-end retail shops. Before long, she wanted to try her hand at putting the wine in the bottles, not just selling it. So, she headed west, to her Dad’s home state of Oregon. There was just one problem – there’s not a lot of Cabernet Franc grown in Oregon.
So, Leah works closely with a handful of vineyards in the Rogue and Applegate Valleys that meet her exacting standards for sustainability and collaboration. If you fall in love with Leah’s Loire-style Oregon wines, you’ll be excused if you start musing aloud about a magical place called Loiregon…
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Leah Jørgensen Cellars, Newberg, Oregon
2019 “Tour Rain” Vin Rouge
Cabernet Franc is typically grown to be blended with its heavier cousin, Cabernet Sauvignon, in order to lighten flavors and add delicate aromas of berries and violets. But it’s also known for a strong vegetal green bell pepper flavor.
Leah Jorgensen takes a strong hand in managing the vines with her grapegrowing partners. With canopy management and reduced yields, Leah ensures that her Cab Franc is fruit-forward and less vegetal.
The Cabernet Franc in the Tour Rain (60%) comes from Mae’s Vineyard in southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley, farmed by Herb Quady. The Gamay Noir (40%) comes from the Havlin Vineyard in the Willamette Valley’s Van Duzer corridor.
A lovely wine with gorgeous color, the Tour Rain has a great balance of floral, red fruit and a hint of pepper. You’ll smell ripe cherry, raspberry and rose petals with flavors of bing cherry, cranberry and cocoa and clove. This is a juicy, soft wine with a kick of acid.
A Cellar 503 selection in May 2022, Women In Wine Oregon | Cabernet Franc, Gamay Noir
