Seña

Seña started as an adventure between Robert Mondavi and Eduardo Chadwich (of Errázuriz) in 1995 which gave birth to iconic red blend from Aconcagua. One of the most sought-after wines in Chile, Seña was the country’s first notable international collaboration and continues to preside as one of the icons of Chile.

The rich, complex and ageworthy wine is Cabernet Sauvignon dominant but also includes Carmenère, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.  The grapes all come from a volcanic vineyard in central Aconcagua, 40 kilometres from the sea, which offers both ripe intensity and freshness to the wine. Vintages are increasingly elegant and Seña is also converting its vineyard to be certified biodynamic. 

About Seña

Seña wine is one of Chile’s top Cabernet Sauvignon blends coming from Aconcagua Valley in Chile. Founded by Eduardo Chadwick and Robert Mondavi in 1995, combining the passion of each of these traditional wine families. The first vintage was released in 1998, and each year one Seña wine is made and is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot.

Owner Eduardo Chadwick took Seña on a worldwide tasting challenge with his Berlin Tasting in 2004. Chadwick pitched his top Chilean wines against some of the top Bordeaux and Super Tuscan wines in a blind tasting, as an ode to Steven Spurrier’s Paris Tasting. Seña came out as the second favourite wine of the tasting, just below another of Chadwick’s wines – Viñedo Chadwick. The tasting was then repeated in 21 different cities worldwide, which helped position Seña as a worldclass wine but also build the reputation of fine wines from Chile.

Seña’s vineyard is in Aconcagua and farmed biodynamically. The Mediterranean climate here in Aconcagua ensures the warm, dry summers, the bright sunny days and the cold, rainy winters that the vines love. The cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean’s Humboldt Current and the down-drift winds of the Andes Mountains create unique climate conditions with cooling midday breezes, cold nights and a wide thermal range that also extends the ripening period so that the grapes develop intense fruit flavours, ripe silky tannins, deep colour and crisp acidity.

There is no Seña winery as the wine is made in Errazurriz, also owned by Chadwick.

About the Seña vineyards

The 42-hectare hillside vineyard was planted in 1998 with Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

It has volcanic and colluvial soils over three main types of substrata: volcanic rocks (andesite and volcanic breccias) in the upper terraces, colluvium brought by gravity from above along the slopes (medium section soils), and alluvium in the form of both coarse material transported a few hundred metres along the ravine and rounded and fine-grained material transported by the Rabuco River at the bottom of the valley over a greater distance from the Las Palmas de Ocoa sector a few kilometres away.

All the vineyards are irrigated with snowmelt water from the Andes, due to the dry Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers. The winery has implemented sustainable practices and organic agriculture very early on in the planning stages and the development of the Seña Vineyard.

About the winemaker

Francisco Baettig is the winemaker for Seña as well as Errazurriz and Viñedo Chadwick, and is one of Chile’s best-known winemakers.

He was born in Santiago, Chile, and studied winemaking in Chile. He has done harvests in the USA, France, New Zealand, Italy, Australia and Argentina, and has been Head Winemaker of the group since 2003.

Francisco speaks perfect English and French and his love for airplanes moved him to acquire his pilot license for single-motor planes in 1998.

Tasting notes

Importers

Le Place de Bordeaux