The Seña estate was purchased in 1995 and is located on the eastern side of the Ocoa coastal mountain range in the heart of the Aconcagua region. The property totals 350 hectares with 42 planted originally with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Carménère. Following soil studies, Merlot was removed, a shallow-rooting variety unable to stand the heat. ‘We have seen annual rainfall reduce quite markedly since the turn of the century. Where we used to get 250mm, we now get 100-125mm. The Merlot really struggled and conversely, Malbec has done very well,’ says chief winemaker Francisco Baettig. ‘We have wells that are up to 80 metres deep, as we cannot rely on the local streams. Increasingly they are bone dry during summer months.’

The Pacific coast is just 40km away, which makes the site cooler than other more internal parts of the Aconcagua Valley. An afternoon coastal breeze and cold mountain air at night have an important moderating effect. The estate has been biodynamic since 2005, just one year after Chadwick took sole ownership following Mondavi’s sale to Constellation Brands. It is a breathtaking property with vines that contour the rugged landscape and rise to 510m above sea level at a mirador located on the highest part of the estate. From here you can see Mount Aconcagua rising majestically in the distance.

The first wines were made by Tim Mondavi and then Ed Flaherty from fruit sourced from other Errazuriz (owned by Chadwick) vineyards. Since 2004, the wine has been made purely from estate-grown fruit. Francisco Baettig has been at the helm since 2010 and he tells me how the blend has fluctuated over the years: ‘The first three vintages were Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant with between 10% and 30% of Carménère. Gradually it has changed and we are loosely settled on around 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% each of Malbec and Carménère. The balance is small amounts of Petit Verdot and, in certain vintages, Cabernet Franc.’

The style and essence of Seña has largely remained the same, despite tweaks to the blend. The wines have a consistent thread that I find throughout: spiced notes, tobacco, cedar and pencil shavings, often with a gamey meatiness. Red fruits shine through, with dark fruits more apparent in the warmer vintages. From a winemaking perspective, there has been one significant change. ‘To start with, we took a traditional Bordeaux approach, always using 100% new oak. Yet now that is closer to 75% and we also use large Stockinger barrels,’ says Baettig. The oak integration is impressive, especially in recent vintages, which are already very expressive.

Since 2011, the wine has been sold on La Place de Bordeaux – ensuring global distribution and accessibility to wine collectors over the world. In a Bordeaux-esque move, a second wine has emerged: Rocas de Seña. ‘We didn’t want to just make a “little Seña”, so the idea is that the base of the wine will be around 35% Malbec, with some Grenache, Syrah – and Mourvèdre, which we have planted as well,’ says Baettig. ‘The idea is that it will be one third of the production of Seña and one third of the price as well. We started with 3,500 cases for the first vintage of 2020.’ The team has also chosen to distribute the wine on la Place de Bordeaux alongside its older sibling.

I tasted every vintage of Seña ever made, as well as the two vintages of Rocas de Seña, alongside Francisco Baettig at the estate. The tasting demonstrated that Seña deserves its place among the great wines of the world and that Chile is firmly capable of producing such titans. The skilful touch of Francisco Baettig has slightly shifted the style towards elegance with considerable finesse, especially in terms of the tannins and oak integration. The soon-to-be-released 2021 continues a very impressive string of recent vintages.