2021 Seña, Aconcagua Valley, Chile
Critics reviews
Toasted spices, dried herbs, with the red fruits, violet, black olives and cola of Malbec. Delivers tension and freshness, great balance, with weight and concentration through the mid palate, climbing upwards to a juicy finish.
Cooler than average vintage of Sena, and an unusual one, with a harvest spread from late March with the Carmanère right until early May for the Petit Verdot (the last time they went this late would have been the 2016 vintage).
Unobtrusive tannins that build slowly but surely, needs some time in the bottle before drinking. 70% new oak, 10% 2,500 litres oak casks. Francisco Baettig winemaker.
Drink 2026 - 2040
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux, JaneAnson.com (August 2023)
One of the finest vintages of the iconic Seña wine, the 2021 Seña comes from a cooler year, following the path of 2016 and 2018, certainly cooler than 2020 and 2019. It has a super expressive nose that is elegant, nuanced, perfumed, subtle and pure, with aromatic finesse, layered and complex. It was picked a couple of weeks later than in the previous two years and still keeping the alcohol below 14%.
It was produced with a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Malbec (cooler years with more), 17% Carmenere and 6% Petit Verdot, fermented mostly in stainless steel and 10% in oak foudre. It's fine-grained and structured but juicy, similar to 2018 but with more finesse. It has the spicy/herbal twist from the Cabernet, ultra-refined tannins that give it great elegance and with length, purity and delineation. Superb! 120,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2023.
Drink 2024 - 2036
Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate (August 2023)
An extremely pure and elegant vintage for Seña. This is really fresh, nimble and floral on the nose with subtle cherries, plums, redcurrants and wild lavender. More red fruit here with lots of layers and just a touch of sweet spice. Very discreet and subtle, with the elegance, freshness and poise you’d expect from 2021.
Medium- to full-bodied on the palate with a bit more flesh and depth if you compare it with Roca de Seña, their second wine. The impeccable tannins show the supreme quality of the fruit this year. Persistent, seamless finish, but comes in a subtle way. 50% cabernet sauvignon, 27% malbec, 17% carmenere and 6% petit verdot.
Effortlessly drinkable now, but it will age beautifully.
Zekun Shuai, Senior Editor, JamesSuckling.com (August 2023)
The 2021 Seña is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with 27% Malbec, 17% Carménère and 6% Petit Verdot from Ocoa in the Aconcagua Valley. It was aged for 22 months, 90% in French oak barrels (70% new) and 10% in foudres. Purple with a garnet sheen.
The nose presents vivid redcurrant and blackcurrant notes with a layer of garrigue against a cigar box backdrop. Dry in the mouth, refreshing acidity stirs up finely grained tannins to channel the palate. A lingering, fruity red that will grow in the bottle.
Drink 2026 - 2040
Joaquín Hidalgo, Vinous.com (March 2023)
About this WINE
Seña
Seña is a wine estate in Chile’s Aconcagua Valley. It was created in 1995 as a joint venture between Eduardo Chadwick, whose family owns Errázuriz, and the late Robert Mondavi of California. Their ambitious aim was to produce a wine in Chile that could rival Bordeaux’s First Growths in terms of both style and quality. In 1997, they released the inaugural 1995 vintage. The estate has been wholly owned by the Chadwick family since 2005. Today, Eduardo’s daughters María Eugenia, María Magdalena, María José, and Alejandra are involved in the family estate.
The wine is a red Bordeaux blend with a majority of Cabernet Sauvignon, along with Malbec, and Petit Verdot. There is also a considerable proportion of Carménère, more so than you would find in Bordeaux, giving Seña a distinctly Chilean twist. There is also a second wine, Rocas de Seña, produced here. Rocas de Seña is notable for the use of grape varieties such as Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre in its blend.
Aconcagua Valley
Aconcagua, 80km from the capital Santiago, north of Casablanca and south of Limari, is the last east-west tranversal valley before the long, north-south Central Valley begins. It is named after the highest peak in the Andes, Mt. Aconcagua (6,959m) and is made up of two very distinct zones. The interior of Aconcagua, Panquehue, is Chile's hottest, driest wine region, while the new vineyards located closer to the Pacific coast produce wines with pronounced exotic flavours.
Pure Andean water, a stable climate, clear skies and low risk of frost create ideal conditions for wine growing. Cool currents from both the Pacific Ocean and the snow-capped Andes Mountains help to maintain good acidity in the grapes, while the sunny and intensely hot summers ensure full levels of fruit ripeness.
Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere dominate the production and they have been grown here since the mid 19th century, yet since the 1990s the region has witnessed an enthusiastic interest in Syrah.
Aconcagua is Errazuriz's base
Cabernet Sauvignon Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
Buying options
Add to wishlist
Description
Toasted spices, dried herbs, with the red fruits, violet, black olives and cola of Malbec. Delivers tension and freshness, great balance, with weight and concentration through the mid palate, climbing upwards to a juicy finish.
Cooler than average vintage of Sena, and an unusual one, with a harvest spread from late March with the Carmanère right until early May for the Petit Verdot (the last time they went this late would have been the 2016 vintage).
Unobtrusive tannins that build slowly but surely, needs some time in the bottle before drinking. 70% new oak, 10% 2,500 litres oak casks. Francisco Baettig winemaker.
Drink 2026 - 2040
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux, JaneAnson.com (August 2023)
wine at a glance
Delivery and quality guarantee