2001 Seña

The 2001 Sena has an attractive nose with fresh black fruit infused with a touch of oyster shell/brine. There is something of the “sea” about the aromatics. The palate is medium-bodied with dry tannins, plenty of peppery black fruit and a rather conservative, straight-laced finish. It is quite austere, but nicely balanced with an attractive espresso tinged aftertaste. Drink now. Sena is the peripatetic wine that goes around the world challenging and, let it be said, often defeating First Growths in blind tastings. I will not enter into a discussion about that here, although it must be said that Sena is an impressive wine. Tasting through this mini-vertical from almost the first vintage, I did find a distinct improvement from 2007 onwards. While I understand that older vintages have their share of plaudits, I discerned more complexity and vitality as well as finer integration of oak on newer vintages, as if more thought had gone into the wines. The result can be seen in the wines themselves, in particular the outstanding 2010. Importer: Thienot USA; www.thienotusa.com