Seña Red Blend Aconcagua Valley 2021

With three vintages in the last six receiving 100 point scores, Seña is, without question, one of the world’s top wines of the last decade. Add in First Bottle’s top-in-the-nation pricing, this beauty is in stock and ready to rock!

100 points! We’ve been eagerly awaiting landfall of this epic bottling of the Southern Hemisphere’s very, very best, and are just thrilled to say… the wait is OVER! Robert Mondavi is certainly smiling down on this wine. When he joined forces with Viña Errázuriz, a little-known Chilean winery run by Eduardo Chadwick back in 1995 – it didn’t make nearly the headlines as his previous partnership with Baron Philippe de Rothschild when they created Opus One in the early 80s...but all that is starting to change.

Set in the heart of Chile’s Aconcagua Valley, at a place called Ocoa, lies a 42-acre parcel planted to Bordeaux varieties – including carménère – the lesser known “6th grape” of Bordeaux that has since come to shine in Chile. Robert’s son, Tim, worked tirelessly with Eduardo to find this perfect spot – taking three years to dig soil pits all over the valley before settling here. Sustainability was always going to be a focus – so a site that was somewhat remote from the potentially damaging choices of other vintners was decided to be ideal. It is a spot of unsurpassing beauty – on the mid-slope of a volcanic ridge – with a mix of gravelly, rocky volcanic and alluvial soils, and an interspersing of clay and loam...in other words, an ideal location that melds the soils of Bordeaux with the hillsides of Napa Valley.

The blend here is 50% cabernet sauvignon, 27% malbec, 17% carménère and 6% petit verdot – aged for 22 months in 70% new French oak barrels. We cracked a bottle as soon as it arrived, and can now *officially* confirm the remarks of the world’s top critics...

“It has a super expressive nose that is elegant, nuanced, perfumed, subtle and pure, with aromatic finesse, layered and complex...” – Wine Advocate

"This is really fresh, nimble and floral on the nose with subtle cherries, plums, redcurrants and wild lavender. More red fruit here with lots of layers and just a touch of sweet spice...” – James Suckling

“Smooth, silky and seductive with crystalline, succulent and ample fruit - blackcurrants, cherries and strawberries, but mostly black fruit, with clear menthol, clove, cocoa and a liquorice tang. Bright and lifted, this has clear personality and such a stylish execution. Full and round, forward and intense, but delivered with poise...” – Decanter

It is indeed, all that, and more! It’s big, without being heaving, fruity without being saccharine, and just layered and loaded with complexity that both showcases every nuance and unifies the flavors into a seamless whole. I’ve tasted more than a few 100 point wines in my day where I walk away saying...I don’t get it. This, happily, was NOT one of those times! Nearly perfect, in my book, and at a price point that you almost never, ever see for a 100 pointer like this!

PAIRING IDEAS: The aromatics here are simply stunning, so I want to keep my meal simple – in a supporting role, almost. So I grilled a hanger steak over binchotan coals, and served it atop grilled mushrooms and onions. A little sprinkle of Maldon salt, a crack of pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil was all it took to take this to a transcendent level.