James spent April in South America and tasted more than 1,000 wines from Argentina, Chile and Peru. One of the highlights was tasting recent vintages from leading producers in Chile, one of which includes its emblematic winery – Seña. The wine is a unique, 700-case-per-year Bordeaux blend made in the Aconcagua Valley just north of Santiago, originally founded by Eduardo Chadwick in cooperation with the late American wine icon Robert Mondavi.
Eduardo found the right place in the astonishing Valle de Aconcagua after an exhaustive quest for the appropriate terroir. The valley is overseen by Mount Aconcagua, the highest peak of all the southwestern hemisphere, and enjoys a Mediterranean climate. Certified biodynamic since 2005, at Seña the conservation of the environment is of the utmost importance.
As of 2005, the project belongs entirely to Chadwick, who also heads Viñedo Chadwick and Viña Errazuriz. James gave its 2012 vintage 98 points, making it the best new release from Chile in 2014. But its 2013 vintage was even better than the legendary 2012! James just tasted its 2014 vintage and published his latest report on Chilean wines after tasting more than 600 wines.
The property is a 42-hectare mountain vineyard with blocks of cabernet sauvignon, carménère, merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot. Although the vines are very young, having been planted specially for Seña, it means the perfect proportions of grape varietals can be used, including a splash of the oh-so-Chilean carménère’s decadent, unending complexity. This makes it for now simply unbeatable in Chile.
Here we’ve posted all the wines tasted by James with earliest dating back to 1996. Click on wine names for tasting notes and scores. Make sure you are a subscriber to our website to check them out.
We also did an interview with Eduardo. You can watch the owner talk about its signature Bordeaux blend and how the Mediterranean climate influence Seña’s wines below in the video.
Photo: A range of Seña reds tasted by James in Chile
Seña Cabernet Sauvignon Valle de Aconcagua 1998
