Vertical Tasting of Sena vs Bordeaux First Growths

Eduardo Chadwick presenting Seña

28 Oct 2011: I was one of the 50 or so fortunate few who were invited to this vertical tasting of Seña wines in HK.  This extremely well-marketed event also served to achieve a second purpose of comparing Seña wines with the same vintages of Bordeaux first growths.  The tasting took place at the Peninsula Hotel and everything worked like clockwork as timekeeping of this tasting was perfectly executed, bravo to the staff at Asian Palate and the Peninsula Hotel. 



A room full of anxious tasters

 We started with a presentation of Seña by Eduardo Chadwick and Jeannie Cho Lee MW.  Eduardo talked passionately and eloquently about how the joint venture with Bob Mondavi started, how both families followed the vision with fervour and conviction to create the first iconic wine for Chile, and how he remembered his late mentor and JV partner with much fondness.  The vineyards of Viña Seña are planted along the contours of a rain-sheltered hillside slope in the Aconcagua Valley. Much research worked into landscaping and ecology.  Soil is a mix of gravel and loam.  The blend is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, and supported by Carmenère (for its savoury and spicy complexity when full ripeness is achieved), Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot (the latter for floral and spicy nuances).  Since 2005, the vineyards has been farmed 100% biodynamically.  Eduardo believes this is the only way they could produce a great wine true to its terroir.
  All the bottles were opened at the same time, poured at the same time, ie all treated equally.  All the wines were tasted blind. So it was with much anticipation, that all of us eagerly waited for the verdict to be declared by Jeannie!  The top 5 places went to: 2008 Seña, 2001 Seña, 1995 Seña, 2007 Seña and 1997 Seña.  The laggers were all Bordeaux first growths.

The overall high ratings (a number of scores above 95) given by the HK group from this vertical tasting of Seña across the vintages of 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008 were testament to the fruit of the years of hardwork, driven by passion and conviction, and enhanced by deep knowledge of the terroir and skilful winemaking of two families (now only one).  

To prove that Seña wines were not only impressive on their own, they could even stand shoulder to shoulder (or tower over, in some of these cases) the best of Bordeaux, the 1995 vintage was compared with the 1995 Mouton Rothschild (RP 95), the 2001 vintage with 2001 Margaux (RP 93), 2005 with 2005 Latour (RP 96) and 2007 with 2007 Lafite (RP 94).  While 2007 might not have been one of the best vintages for Bordeaux, the other vintages, especially 2005, have all been labelled with descriptors such as power, concentration, intensity, seductive, charming, elegant, etc.  The 2005 Latour should be a worthy match, with its high Parker rating of 96, but the wine had clearly gone ino its shell....aromatics still prominent, but the palate was a little disappointing.  The signs of power, intensity and concentration were absent.  Aromatically, the 2001 Margaux and the 2007 Lafite were very attractive, very Bordeaux, but on the palate, both did not quite measure up to the intensity, concentration and length of the Seña wines.  Experience would say that these wines, though currently in their subdued state, all probably would need another 10 - 15 years, or longer, to realise the best part of their potential (or to live up to their ratings).

Seña 2008

My top 2 scores went to the 1995 and 1997 vintages of Seña (and my third went to the 2008 vintage).  While the Chilean wines demonstrated a lot of power, concentration and intensity in youth,  all the time underlined with elegance, I was much more impressed by the complexity of cedar, savoury, tobacco and sweet mocha notes, for the two older vintages with around 15 years of bottle age.  I felt that they were drinking near peak, but nowhere near the end of their drinking window, with at least another 6 - 8+ years to go!  If there were one thing I took home with me, it was the knowledge that the best Chilean wines were capable of ageing (perhaps not quite like the best of Bordeaux, but a horizon of 20+ years would not be unreasonable).  Another thought might be that top Chilean wines would make very worthy components of a wine collection, as they can fill the drinking gaps, while waiting for the Bordeaux wines to emerge from the typical difficult and reticent stage.



Jeannie Cho Lee MW announcig the tasting results

 No question a very powerful marketing ploy to compare the wines with the best of Bordeaux!  The impact of the results was immediate!  We were all surprised by our ratings!  I can't help thinking that it might be more fair and interesting to compare the Seña wines with the best of Bordeaux-blends outside of the Bordeaux region (such as Argentina, Chile, California, Tuscan Bordeaux-Blend, etc), that would have similar development/ageing profiles......  

Definitely, a very educational experience and I am really glad that I had the opportunity to be a part of this!