History
The story of ‘Seña’ began with a road trip. In 1991, Eduardo Chadwick, who ran the family-owned ‘Viña Errázuriz’ winery, spent a week introducing Robert Mondavi, the legend of the Napa Valley, to Chile’s wine-growing regions. They hit it off immediately, and Mondavi suggested to Chadwick that if he wanted to put Chile on the world wine map, he should create a wine in the classic Bordeaux style. This was followed by four years of searching for a suitable plot of land.
In 1995, they signed an agreement to establish Chile’s first international joint venture in the wine industry, naming the project ‘Seña’ – Spanish for ‘sign’ or ‘signature’. The first vintage, also from 1995, was released in 1997 and is widely regarded as Chile’s first cult wine.
The moment that truly propelled ‘Seña’ onto the world stage came in 2004. Inspired by the 1976 ‘Judgement of Paris’, Chadwick organised a blind tasting in which the 2001 ‘Seña’ competed against first-growth Bordeaux wines and Italian ‘Super Tuscans’. It came second, beaten only by the 2000 ‘Château Lafite Rothschild’ and finishing ahead of ‘Château Margaux’ and ‘Château Latour’. This result was very surprising and almost had the same impact in the wine world as the judgement of Paris. In 2005, after the Mondavi company was sold to Constellation Brands, Chadwick became the sole owner of Seña.
Vineyards
The estate is situated on the hillsides above the town of Ocoa in the Aconcagua Valley, on a plot of land specifically acquired for this project after many years of searching. The estate covers around 350 hectares, of which approximately 40 hectares planted with vines; it lies some 40 kilometres from the Pacific Ocean, close enough for the cool ocean air to reach the vineyards and temper the climate of the valley, which would otherwise be too warm.
Terroir
The soil consists of a mixture of weathered granite, colluvial deposits and volcanic rock, which drains well, forcing the vines to dig deep into the soil in search of water and nutrients. The climate is Mediterranean: dry, sunny mornings promote the ripening of the grapes, whilst the afternoon hours, cooled by the Pacific Ocean, preserve acidity and freshness.
Since 2005, the vineyard has been cultivated using biodynamic farming methods, employing home-made compost and natural products instead of synthetic chemicals.
Grapes
The ‘Seña’ wine is crafted from classic Bordeaux varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenère. Merlot was part of the original planting but was gradually phased out due to its inability to tolerate the heat and aridity of the region. Carmenère, closely associated with Chile, lends the wine a local character, whilst Cabernet Sauvignon typically makes up between half and two-thirds of the blend.
The exact proportion of varieties varies each year depending on the yield of each, there is no fixed recipe.
The winemaking process
The grapes are harvested by hand, then sorted and destemmed before fermentation, which takes place mainly in stainless-steel tanks, with a small proportion in concrete vats. The wine is then aged for around 18–22 months in French oak barrels, mostly new, and to a lesser extent in large oak vats known as ‘fudras’, which impart texture without a pronounced oaky flavour. Francisco Bettig has shaped the wine’s style over two decades and now works as a consultant; in 2024, Emily Folkoner will take over as technical director.
Wines
The flagship wine from Vina Seña is called Seña, a Bordeaux-style red blend, with an annual production of around 5,000 cases. Critics consistently praise its balance, combining notes of dark fruit, subtle tannins and freshness, qualities that stem from the cool, Pacific-influenced site that Chadwick and Mondavi spent four years searching for.
Seña has released a second wine called Rocas de Seña, the first vintage of which was harvested in 2020. It is a blend dominated by Malbec (rather than Cabernet), which also includes Syrah and Grenache, some of which are sourced from another Chadwick estate; production of this wine amounts to approximately half that of the estate’s flagship wine.
Almost thirty years on, Seña remains one of South America’s most respected wines and stands as proof that the search was well worth it..
The best vintages of Sena
Sena produces its flagship wines since the 1995 release. Without exception the wines are of the highest quality. Some really exceptional vintages are amongst others 2005, 2006, 2009, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022.
