Wonders from Chile

hile is mainly known for making ‘cheap and cheerful’ wines however, premium wines are on the rise helped with Almaviva, Seña and Viñedo Chadwick now considered amongst the world’s top collectors.

Seña 2021

Seña and Viñedo Chadwick are a pair of remarkable wines. Although the style is different, what unites them, apart from their origin, is the consistency of the quality year after year.

Seña was created in 1995 as a joint venture between Eduardo Chadwick and Robert Mondavi, who shared a dream of making a wine that would show Chile’s full potential and be welcomed, in time, amongst the world’s First Growths. Modelled on a Bordeaux style, it would have a Chilean soul given by its Carmenere variety, grown under biodynamic farming principles in the Aconcagua Valley.

In 1998, a dedicated vineyard for Seña was developed in Ocoa, Aconcagua, where the vines benefits from both the bright sunlight from the generally cloudless Chilean skies and the cooling breezes from the Pacific Ocean. The vineyard was subsequently converted to biodynamic cultivation in 2005.

The first vintage was 1995 which was released in 1997 to critical praise. Sena then achieved international recognition at the Berlin Tasting in 2004, when Edouardo Chadwick entered Sena 2000 and 2001 against the global elite (Lafite, Latour, Margaux, Solaia…) in a blind tasting. The results were astonishing with Sena 2001 coming second and the 2000 equal fourth with Ch Margaux.

Over time the wine has become even fresher, more balanced, and more drinkable in its youth as the team fine-tuned the vineyards, providing more foliage to shade the grapes from direct sun and reducing the alcohol level.
Seña is now made from five Bordeaux varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.

The 2021 Vintage

An outstanding vintage due to moderately cool conditions that translated into a slow smooth ripening of the grapes.
Pure, elegant and refined wine. The season saw average rainfall with 282mm falling between May and October and this enabled the aquifers in the valley to recover their levels ready for the coming season. With a total heat summation of 1,425 DD, slightly fresher than historical averages, that created an ideal slow growing season. In spring, the temperatures were within historical levels favouring a perfect fruit set. The summer was slightly cooler and cloudier than other years, with some refreshing rain (9mm) in late January, which ensured a gentle ripening of healthy grapes. During late March, the Seña vineyards were blessed with moderately warm days, allowing the grapes to reach perfect maturity.

Aged in oak barrels for 22 months (75% new). Secure your allocation now.

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. - 100 points James Suckling

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 to2018 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 - 99 points Robert Parker

Rocas de Seña 2021

A second wine is now produced and was first released in 2022. Rocas de Seña is a blend of Seña wines that do not make it to the 'Grand vin' and grapes sourced of nearby plots planted with Mediterranean varieties that benefit from a North-East exposure. The grapes receive more heat than Seña estate, allowing for the perfect ripening of Syrah and Grenache. Secure your allocation now.

Very racy, vibrant and intense with a heap of pure red fruit, full of strawberries, red cherries and a hint of spice, flowers and blue fruit. A subtle twist of mineral, too. Medium-bodied, linear, long and subtle on the palate, sandwiched by very fine, polished tannins. Precision and purity are the words. Elegant and slightly austere with a very long, subtle finish. 35% malbec, 21% syrah, 20% cabernet sauvignon, 10% grenache, 9% petit verdot and 5% mourvedre. 50,000 bottles made, which is a little more than the 2020 vintage. Drink or hold - 96 points, James Suckling

The second vintage of their second wine, the 2021 Rocas de Seña is less opulent and with more tension and floral aromas (but with power too) than the 2020. It was produced with a blend of 35% Malbec, 21% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Grenache, 9% Petit Verdot and, for the first time, 5% Mourvedre. Grenache and Mourvedre were planted in 2005 on the family's other property that was first planted in 1999 with Syrah. It's a little below the 14% alcohol stated on the label. It fermented mostly in stainless steel and some concrete eggs for the Garnacha, and it aged separately before being blended, lowering the total time in barrel to 18 to20 months. It's floral, perfumed, elegant and expressive, with herbal freshness and a spicy twist from the barrels. The palate is fine-boned, balanced and elegant. You notice the different aromatic and gustative palette when tasted next to Seña, with fine-grained, chalky tannins. This is a noteworthy second label with drinkability and aging capability. 50,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2023 - 94 points Robert Parker

Viñedo Chadwick 2021

Viñedo Chadwick represents the Chadwick family’s long cherished desire to honour the memory of the late Don Alfonso Chadwick Errázuriz with an Ultra-Premium red wine showcasing the ancestry, tradition, and expertise of the Chadwick-Errázuriz family. The aim is to make an elegant wine with freshness and purity, showing the Maipo Valley at its highest level.

The wine was first noted at the Berlin Tasting in 2004, when Chadwick 2000 swooped the first place against the global elite (Lafite, Latour, Margaux, Solaia) in a blind tasting competition. Later, the 2014 vintage received the perfect 100 points from wine critics James Suckling, becoming the first Chilean wine to achieve such a world recognition.

Unlike Seña, Viñedo Chadwick is almost purely Cabernet Sauvignon from the Maipo Valley which a little warmer than Aconcagua, allowing the grape to thrive. The vineyard has been divided into several blocks which are monitored independently and harvested in the cool morning hours to preserve fruit quality. Plots are gently crushed and then fermented separately to maximize their character. This is followed by an extended maceration of up to thirty days depending on the development of the individual lots.

The wine is then aged in French oak barrels. Racking takes place four or five times during ageing and is done from barrel. Blending decisions are made very late in the ageing process just before bottling. The aim of this is to give them more options for the final blend after the individual lots have developed their own unique characteristics in barrel, giving them more control each year over the character of the final wine.

The 2021 Vintage

2021 was cooler than the previous year with more rain which led to better balanced wines with good acidity. After a long period of drought during the previous cycle, the rain came back in winter to initiate the vintage 2021 with excellent auspices. Spring was warm, with budding and flowering occurring 5-7 days earlier than average. Then, summer was cool, especially after the unexpected rain in January. The cooler conditions from January to harvest generated an optimal ripening process, great fruit and freshness in the grapes, tension, length, and perfect balance in the wines. An exceptional and unique vintage with great freshness and outstanding expression of Cabernet Sauvignon.

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The 2021 Viñedo Chadwick fermented in stainless steel and troncoconic concrete vats, spent some 10 months in barrique, and then part of the wine (some 20%) was sent to the Stockinger foudres. The nose is reminiscent of a super elegant and sleek Bordeaux, pure and clean, less balsamic than in previous years and less herbal. It's perfumed and floral, precise, fresh and elegant, with very fine tannins, and despite the grape, it is more Pomerol than Graves, with 14% alcohol on the label but without any heat at all. It's velvety and luxurious, juicy and tasty, with fine-grained chalky tannins and the elegant stoniness that the best Maipos are capable of. It has structure and power, like the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove. This has to be the finest vintage for Chadwick; the wine made my heart beat faster—it's a wine of emotion. This is also my first 100-point wine from Chile! The final blend contains around 3% Petit Verdot from vines planted in 2005. There are some 10,000 bottles of this, and it was all bottled all at once on January 31, 2023. - 100 points Robert Parker

Beautiful nose with lots of currants, red cherries, flowers, roasted chili and dark chocolate. A fine hint of balsamic. More red fruit than black fruit here with bright cherries and a hint of cigar box. Really even on the palate, with a medium to full body and effortless tannins -- plentiful and silky. Extremely fine-grained and long. Very young but the superb freshness and the tannin quality of this vintage makes you think this is already drinkable. Better from 2025 - 99 points James Suckling

Almaviva 2021

Almaviva is the Avant Garde and forward-thinking collaboration between Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Mouton Rothschild and Conch y Toro, with the aim of creating the first Bordeaux Grand Cru Classe level wine in Chile. With 40 hectares of Concha y Toro's best Puente Alto vineyards in the capable hands of Patrick Leon (winemaker at Mouton and Opus One), the results have been nothing short of spectacular.

Located in the Maipo Valley, in Chile's central zone, Puente Alto, with its stony soil, cold, rainy winters, and the Summer’s hot days and cool nights, was recognized over twenty years ago as the ideal vineyards for growing Cabernet Sauvignon. As a result, 85 hectares are now reserved exclusively for Almaviva. The vineyard is tended with meticulous care from pruning to harvest. A revolutionary underground drip irrigation system has been installed, making it possible to deliver the precise amount of water that each vine needs with a constant concern for quality. Alamaviva’s global brand recognition is continuing to progress, and it is worth considering it as an investment.

The 2021 Vintage

2021 was cooler than the previous year with more rain which led to better balanced wines with good acidity. After a long period of drought during the previous cycle, the rain came back in winter to initiate the vintage 2021 with excellent auspices. Spring was warm, with budding and flowering occurring 5-7 days earlier than average. Then, summer was cool, especially after the unexpected rain in January. The cooler conditions from January to harvest generated an optimal ripening process, great fruit and freshness in the grapes, tension, length, and perfect balance in the wines. An exceptional and unique vintage with great freshness and outstanding expression of Cabernet Sauvignon.

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A fresh and discreet Almaviva with subtle pencil shavings and cigar box to the cassis and hints of chili chocolate and peppermint. Nuanced and subtle on the nose. This is medium-bodied and subtle on the palate with silky tannins in the seamless finish. Very long. 71% cabernet sauvignon, 22% carmenere, 5% cabernet franc and 2% petit verdot. Drinkable now, but it will take its time to deliver complexity. - 98 points James Suckling

Michel Friou compares the brilliant 2021 Almaviva to the 2018 and I think he’s right in terms of the quality and complexity of the Cabernet Sauvignon that sits at this wine’s core, even if the tannins are a little finer and less extracted here. A wine that’s proudly Chilean, it’s a pan-regional cuvée that partners Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot from Puente Alto with 22% Carmenère from Peumo. Cassis, mulberry and Mediterranean herb flavours of fennel and lavender areframed by deftly integrated new French oak, lots of texture and weight, bright acidity and minerality and a precise, focused finish. An impressive wine from one of the very best recent Chilean vintages. Drink 2028-40 - 98 points Tim Atkin MW

2021 was an overall cooler year than 2020, with more elegant wines with more finesse and less angular tannins. The sleek 2021 Almaviva is a good example of that, still very young and still marked by the élevage in oak after spending 20 months in French oak barrels, 71% of them new and the rest only second use. The final blend was 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Carmenere (from Peumo), 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, a variety that might gain in percentage, as they have even planted some more with the idea to possibly replace Merlot in the medium or long term. It's not a shy wine, hitting the scale at 15% alcohol and with mellow acidity, 4.65 grams (tartaric) and a pH of 3.81 The fruit is dark, ripe and spicy, nothing green about it; it's a little shy, less expressive than the warmer years are early on and a little more discreet but with potential to develop in bottle. The tannins are still present, and it should benefit from some more time in bottle. The 2019 had more volume than the 2018, and the 2020 is closer to the 2019 than the 2018. 200,000 bottles produced. It was bottled between late January and early February 2023. I tasted it next to the 2020 and 2018, and it's closer to the latter; but this 2021 is more elegant, and 2018 is a little more austere and herbal. - 96 points Robert Parker

Epu 2021

The second wine of Almaviva is aged for one year in 10% new oak. Aromas of roasted sweet spice alongside blackberry fruit, cassis and hints of blue fruit and cured meat. Medium-to full-bodied with supple tannins and a long finish. Secure your allocation now.

Their second wine, the 2021 Epu is from the same terroir and vineyard in Puente Alto as Almaviva but comes from the younger vines, around 12 years on average. In 2021, the blend is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Carmenere and 5% Merlot (no Cabernet Franc this year). It has a ripe and heady nose, with 14.68% alcohol (15% on the label), mellow acidity and intense notes of red peppers, ripe blackberries and cassis and some spiciness from the oak. It matured for one year in French barriques, only 10% new and 90% second use. It has a little less structure and softer tannins, making it more approachable than previous years, a profile that seems to be the signature of the year. It's medium to full-bodied with velvety, more polished tannins, and it is more delicate and less concentrated, with more finesse. But I find these quite homogeneous and regular, this year with no raisins or dehydrated grapes, and in this vintage, it feels open and expressive. 80,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2023 - 94 points Robert Parker