Vina Sena Red Blend 2021
(Aconcagua Valley, Chile) - [JS 100] [WA 98+] [DM 97] [VM 96] [WS 94]

About this Wine:
Seña, was created as a joint venture between Chilean Eduardo Chadwick and American Robert Mondavi way back in 1995. Their aim was to make a wine that would demonstrate the full potential of Chile. Modelled on a Bordeaux style, it would have a Chilean soul, with its grapes grown under biodynamic farming principles in the Aconcagua Valley. Their dream was to create a wine that would be welcomed, in time, among the world's First Growths. 

Vintage Notes:
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. The harvest got underway as expected with Malbec between late March and mid-April. Next came the Cabernet Sauvignon in the first two weeks of April, overlapping with the Petit Verdot in the second and third weeks of April. We finalized the harvest with the Carmenere. The 2021 vintage will be remembered as an exceptional year with ideal conditions resulting in a vibrant wine of great purity. A wine with high aromatic complexity, refreshing acidity and delicious linear palate with fine-grained tannins. A vintage with an extraordinary ageing potential.

Tasting Notes:
“Seña 2021 is a beautiful deep ruby colour with violet hues. The nose reveals delicate notes of strawberries, cassis and rose petals, framed by hints of cloves, spice and cocoa. Red fruit and blackcurrants, pastries and dark chocolate make for a delicious palate where the tension is perfectly balanced by the juicy acidity and fine-grained tannins, tracing a smooth and vertical backbone through the palate. This wine can be enjoyed for many years to come.” -Francisco Baettig, Winemaker February 2023

Technical Information

Assemblage: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Malbec, 17% Carmenere, 6% Petit Verdot

Alcohol: 14%

Ageing: 22 months, 90% in French oak barrels (70% new) and 10% in foudres

Ratings & Reviews:

100 Points - James Suckling:
"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." (Dec 2023)

98+ Points - Wine Advocate:
"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 Gutiérrez (Aug 2023)

97 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"The moderately cool conditions of the year have produced an intensely fragrant and concentrated wine on the nose - this smells powerful and expressive. Smooth, silky and seductive with crystalline, succulent and ample fruit - blackcurrants, cherries and strawberries, but mostly black fruit, with clear menthol, clove, cocoa and a liquorice tang. Bright and lifted, this has clear personality and such a stylish execution. Full and round, forward and intense, but delivered with poise. A delicious wine with so much to like not least the exceptional acidity coupled with the depth and width giving a complete wine with intensity and refinement. Everything feels carefully considered but still giving flavour and verve. Ageing 22 months, 90% French oak barrels (70% new), 10% in foudres. A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Malbec, 17% Carménère and 6% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Winemaker Francisco Baettig." - Georgina Hindle (Jul 2023)

96 Points - Vinous Media:
"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 (Mar 2023)

94 Points - Wine Spectator:
"Elegantly styled around strawberry, pink peppercorn and fresh herb details, which mingle with a rich, polished core that reveals darker nuances of plum and cassis. Gathers tension around minerally acidity, before ending with spiced chocolate notes and fine tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Carmenère and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2033. 10,000 cases made, 1,500 cases imported." - Aaron Romano (Nov 2023)