Seña

Back in the early 1990s, Eduardo Chadwick and Robert Mondavi set out with grand ambitions for Seña. Chadwick, heir to the Errázuriz wine empire, and Mondavi, the Californian legend who put Napa on the map, shared a dream: to prove Chile could produce wines to rival Bordeaux's finest. In 1995, they embarked upon the Chilean wine industry's first strategic alliance to create a unique wine that would capture the essence of the grape and the spirit of the land, naming it Seña as a sign to the world that Chile was able to produce a truly great, world-class wine. After four years of searching the Aconcagua Valley from east to west, checking hundreds of soil pits and temperature variations, an ideal piece of land was discovered in Ocoa, in the mid-section of the valley, 25 miles from the Pacific Ocean.

The Pacific coast is just 40km away, which makes the site cooler than other more internal parts of the Aconcagua Valley, with an afternoon coastal breeze and cold mountain air at night having an important moderating effect. Colluvial soils on the valley's slopes contain a variety of textures and stone proportions, resulting in a great diversity of well-drained gravel, rock and loam. The estate has vines that contour the rugged landscape and rise to 510m above sea level at a mirador located on the highest part of the estate. The 42-hectare vineyard was planted in 1998 with Bordeaux varieties perfectly suited to this unique terroir.

Winemaking Philosophy

Since 2005 Seña is owned 100% by the Chadwick family and is the personal project of Eduardo Chadwick, following Constellation Brands' purchase of the Mondavi corporation. Francisco Baettig is without doubt Chile's most celebrated and renowned winemaker, having made the wines at Seña since 2003, shifting the style significantly from 2013 by placing more emphasis on elegance. The estate has been biodynamic since 2005, just one year after Chadwick took sole ownership. This commitment to organic and biodynamic farming reflects a deep respect for the terroir and a desire to let the land speak through the wine.

The winemaking approach balances tradition with precision. Today the fruit is hand-picked, sorted and de-stemmed, mainly fermented in stainless steel with a small proportion (usually around 6%) in new oak, pumped over three times a day to extract colour and flavour. The wine is racked to 100% new oak barrels where it stays for 22 months before bottling. This meticulous process ensures each vintage captures both power and finesse.

The Wine

The wine is made from a blend of six of the classic Bordeaux red grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenère, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. The blend varies by vintage depending on the conditions. Cooler years typically see more Malbec in the mix, while warmer vintages might feature a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. Carmenère, Chile's signature grape, gives the wine its distinctive character and sets it apart from traditional Bordeaux blends.

At the Judgment of Berlin in 2004, Seña 2001 placed second, just behind Château Lafite Rothschild 2000 and ahead of Château Margaux, Château Latour, and Opus One. That tasting changed everything for Chilean wine. Today, Seña produces around 120,000 bottles annually, alongside their second wine, Roca de Seña. The wines show remarkable elegance, with refined tannins, vibrant acidity, and the ability to age gracefully for decades.