Seña 2020
Sena Winery
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, a wine that would come to be welcomed, in time, among 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.
This warm vintage complemented with a precise irrigation enabled a rapid and even bud break on a regular date, showing early signs of a great vintage. The warm temperatures allowed for good development in the vineyard, with early flowering in the spring. December and January continued with more moderate temperatures, allowing veraison to proceed beautifully under very healthy and homogeneous conditions.
The milder conditions during February, influenced by the cool winds from the Pacific Ocean, helped preserve the acidity and aromatic compounds in the grapes. Temperatures rose again in March, resuming the season’s trend of high temperatures, determining a rich and opulent style for the wine. The deeply-rooted vines embraced our rich terrior, which farmed under biodynamic principles, delivered optimal amounts of minerals and nutrients. Precise canopy management was essential to encourage ventilation and embrace the sunny days to achieve a smooth ripening with concentrated compounds in the fruit, gaining the perfect balance between accumulation of sugars and
phenolical maturity.
As expected, harvest began seven days before the historic dates during the second week of March. 2020 was a vintage that produced very concentrated, powerful and exuberant wines according to the weather and terrior conditions. Our experienced team successfully produced a magnificent balanced and complex wine with uncommon layers of depth and structure as well as fine-grained, rounded tannins, displaying its elegance with fresh aromas, good acidity, and rich colour.
"A deep and beautiful garnet-red colour with violet hues, the 2020 Seña presents complexity on the nose with multiple layers of fresh red-fruit
aromas such as cherries and raspberries accompanied by violets and pleasing touches of dill and rosemary, all framed by light notes of sweet
spices. The palate shows young fruits, more sweet spices, and smooth balsamic tones. It is fresh and juicy with elegant fine-grained tannins thatm create to a silky and pleasing sensation. The 2020 vintage of Seña shows elegance and balance with an ample and profound finish."
Francisco Baettig, Winemaker
All prices are InBond, delivery December 2022.
Delivery
Items are expected to be delivered within 4 weeks
Producer
Region
Variety
Alcohol-abv
13.5
Reviews
James Suckling 98 Points, Vinous 94 Points
Bottle Format:
75cl
By selecting a "case of 6", you save £3, help the environment and contribute to eco-sustainable development
Variant
Status
Price
Quantity
Ratings
98 Points James Suckling
Complex, with savory, spicy character, showing tobacco, salted plums, olives, black cherries, cassis and a hint of white pepper on the nose, followed by a refined, savory, balsamic accent. A full-bodied Seña with juicy fruit chiseling into the tight, extremely fine-grained tannins. Long, bright and still elegant from this warm vintage. 53% cabernet sauvignon, 25% malbec, 15% carmenere and 7% petit verdot. A wine with lots of harmony now, but better to drink from 2025.
94 Points Vinous
The 2020 Seña was made in another warm, early-ripening year further complicated by the restrictions that came with the COVID pandemic, which hindered decision-making in the vineyard. A blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Malbec, 15% Carménère and 7% Petit Verdot, it was aged for 22 months, 90% in French barrels and the rest in foudres. A purplish garnet red, the intense, ripe nose presents notes of herb, blackcurrant and plum while in the mouth the rich balance gives a gentle boost channeled by firm but restrained tannins. Juicy and relaxed with nuanced flavor, it will improve in the bottle.
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Chile
Chile is one of South America's most important wine-producing countries. Occupying a thin strip down the western coast of the continent, it is home to a wide range of terroirs, and an equally wide range of wine styles. The Chilean viticultural industry is often associated in export markets with consistent, good-value wines, but some world-class reds are also made, commanding high prices. For red wines the initial export mainstays have been Bordeaux varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Chile’s golden age was the end of the 19th century, when the rest of the wine world had been crippled by downy mildew and phylloxera but this isolated wine producer could supply almost limitless quantities of healthy, deep-coloured wine, made from familiar vinifera vines that had been imported into Chile earlier in the century.
Chile’s most important red wine variety by far is Cabernet Sauvignon, which accounts for more than a third of all vines planted. País (Criolla Chica in Argentina), grown mainly in the unirrigated south, ends up in cheap cartons sold on the local market. Merlot still has a very strong presence but less so than before the formal identification in 1994 of the old Bordeaux variety Carmenère. For many years no distinction was made between the two varieties and many vineyards had mixed plantings. A growing pride in what many refer to as Chile’s signature variety has resulted in many more high-quality wines labelled Carmenère or comprising Carmenère blends. But Chile's fine wines now include Syrahs, Malbecs, old vine Carignan from Maule and, increasingly, red blends.
