Viña Seña 2020 Vinho Tinto

Guided by intuition and supported by family heritage, Eduardo Chadwick and Robert Mondavi handcrafted a wine of quality and distinctive character. The Seña estate is the culmination of their wonderful partnership and a passionate journey. Seña is also an authentic Chilean blend of the finest Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, with Carmenere adding an evident Chilean personality. Chadwick and Mondavi searched for four long years before finding the ideal Chilean terroir in the Aconcagua Valley, where they bought 350 hectares of virgin hillside land.

The Wine Advocate
RP 97
Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez

The 2020 Seña is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Malbec, 15% Carmenere and 7% Petit Verdot (a little higher, in search of acidity), with grapes picked early, in the second week of March, and fermented mostly in stainless-steel tanks and 10% in concrete eggs. It has a moderate 13.5% alcohol and good freshness.

It's a subtle, layered wine, not only of fruit but also spice; it has polished tannins and very well-integrated oak after 22 months in barrels, 78% new, with 10% of the volume in large Stockinger casks. The warmer years seem well controlled, so this is reflected not in ripeness but in texture and tannin quality; in warmer years such as 2017 or this one, the wines have a little more firmness but are definitely more elegant than the 2017 vintage.

This wine has intensity and complexity, with no minty or herbal notes; it's spicy and juicy, with energy and depth. It has the structure, colour, body and acidity to evolve well in bottle. 100,000 bottles were produced. It was bottled in February 2022.

I tasted Seña's latest releases, now including a second wine, at their release through the Bordeaux négociants in September 2022. I'm including these notes here again to put them in context with the rest of the wines from Chile and to complete this article.

Published: 6 April 2023

James Suckling:

Extremely vibrant flowers and citrus fruit, with graphite, currants and blueberries. The nose is like walking into a florist's. Medium- to full-bodied, with extremely polished tannins that caress the palate. A firm finish, indicating there is still much more to come. A blend of 53% cabernet sauvignon, 25% malbec, 15% carmenère and 7% petit verdot. Try after 2028, but it's already open and seductive.