Sena 2018 (9.0L)

100 JS / 98 WA / 98 JD / 97 DE / 17.5+ JR

#3 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of Chile 2020
#13 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2020

This is a very thoughtful Seña that shows unique aromas of warm earth, mushrooms and conifer, turning to dark berries and black olives. The palate is more glamorous with ultra-fine tannins that envelop your palate. Shows power and vibrancy at the end. Toned muscles. It’s a very intellectual wine that harkens back to the 2015. Blend of 55% cabernet sauvignon, 18% malbec, 15% carmenere, 7% cabernet franc and 5% merlot. - James Suckling

The 2018 Seña shows the fresher side of the Ocoa zone of the Aconcagua Valley through a Bordeaux blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Malbec, 15% Carmenere, 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot; there are small differences, but nothing substantial. As I've seen in other wines from the very complete 2018 vintage, the grapes ripened thoroughly and achieved more flavors and nuances, and the wines are slightly higher in alcohol (14% this year versus 13.3% in 2017, but in reality it's 13.8% ). But the wine seems to have more of everything. The grapes fermented in a combination of stainless steel and concrete vats and matured in new barriques and Stockinger foudres for 22 months, a similar formula as the one used for Viñedo Chadwick. This is a very elegant vintage of Seña, a year with a slow ripening so that the grapes achieved very good ripeness and full development of aromas and flavors, making the wine nuanced and complex, with depth but also freshness and finesse—floral and expressive. The tannins are very fine, polished and elegant, and the wine is long and complex, mixing the best f 2015 and 2016, coming through as a very complete year. It's still a little young and should develop nicely in bottle; it's approachable now, but if you can hold it a little bit more, it should be even better. This has to be the finest vintage of Seña to date. Comparing it with the Chadwick from the same year, there is more freshness and a little more complexity and clout coming form the cooler zone and the palette of varieties used that give more options to achieve more nuance. 100,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February and March 2020.Luis Gutiérrez - The Wine Advocate

Based on 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Malbec, 15% Carmenère, 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Sena was vinified in a mix of stainless-steel tanks and concrete and aged 22 months in new barrels. Offering up impressive cassis and darker berry fruits as well as notes of violets, truffle, damp earth, tobacco, and candied orange peel, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a great, seamless texture, no hard edges, and just about flawless tannins. The overall freshness and purity as well as its seamless texture all make for a compelling, world class wine. Already offering complexity, richness, and elegance, enjoy bottles over the coming 10-15 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

2018 was a return to a more balanced growing season after the drought of 2017, and the cooler conditions of 2016, with long slow ripening that has ensured an intense deep colour, and both concentration and juice in the body of this wine. The aromatics jump straight out of the glass, cedar, black fruit, cloves and cinnamon spice. This is intense, with polish and balance, and will gain further depth over ageing. Layers of complexity on display, extremely impressive vintage of Seña that pulses with life. 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot completes the blend. 85% new oak. - Jane Anson, Decanter

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Malbec, 15% Carmenere, 7% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Hailed as a great vintage in Chile, with perfect growing and harvesting conditions.
Deep ruby-purple in the glass. Peppery deep cassis, excellent purity on the nose. Very enticing and sophisticated. There is a hint of dark, mint chocolate. Good precision and delineation of fruit on the palate. This is grown-up, with cool blackcurrant, fresh black cherry and flecks of spicy pepper and fresh herbs. Compact for now, with fine tannins building through the mid palate. Most intense at the finish, highlighting the potential. (TP) Jancis Robinson .com