Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
57% Cabernet Sauvignon (picked third and fourth week of April), 25% Merlot (picked 14 April), 9% Carmenère (picked 5 and 16 May), 6% Cabernet Franc (picked 9 April), 3% Petit Verdot (picked 11 April). TA 5.01 g/l, pH 3.59, RS 2.75 g/l. Fruit is from their Seña Hillside Vineyard in the Aconcagua Valley, 41 km from the Pacific Ocean. The Seña Vineyard is on a hillside with a north-eastern exposure and elevations of 290–500 m. The colluvial loam soils have a high percentage of stones (40–80%). Moderate growing season which delayed the harvest by up to a week. Hand-picked and sorted by hand. Destemmed. Stainless steel fermentation, three pumpovers per day. Total maceration time ranged from 20–40 days. Aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Deep garnet. Light nose with sweet oak dominating the fruit. Smells of very sweet Carmenère with some leafiness. Pretty chewy finish. But the fruit seems to be receding. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Contains some Carmenère. Quite fragile. Lots of evolution on the rim. Fresh, complete nose. Some mintiness. Interesting. Distinctive. Very racy and refreshing. Much racier than most. One of my favourite Chileans. (JR)
The 2005 Sena, from an outstanding vintage, is composed of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 9% Carmenere, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. The wine spent 18 months in 100% new French oak. Purple-colored, it offers up an alluring bouquet of pain grille, espresso, spice box, black currant, and blackberry. Layered, ripe, and intensely flavored, its elegant personality is reminiscent of a top-level St.-Julien from a quality vintage. The flavors already reveal considerably complexity and the tannic structure suggests that Sena will have a lengthy upward trajectory. It should reach its peak by 2015 and remain at that level through 2035. Sena is one of Chile’s icon wines and deservedly so. Vina Sena was originally a partnership between Eduardo Chadwick and Robert Mondavi but since the demise of the Mondavi empire, Sena has been going it alone. The fruit is entirely sourced from the Sena Hillside Vineyard which is biodynamically farmed. Importer: Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700
About the producer
Seña – literally meaning “signal” – was Chile’s first icon wine. In the early 1990s, the country had a reputation mainly for lower-end, high-volume wines, but Eduardo Chadwick, owner and president of Viña Errázuriz, set out to change that.