Right from the get-go, Sena was designed to be an icon of Chilean winemaking - all the best ingredients were dedicated to the making of Sena and then some!

One Man's Dream In The Making

Sena, which translates as signal, was born from an encounter in the early 1990s between Vina Errazuriz's Eduardo Chadwick, then in his 30's and rearing to make a mark, and Robert Mondavi, who had by then become well known for his Napa Valley wines.

Eduardo had just taken over his family's wine business (fifth-generation; having been founded in 1870 by Chilean Maximiano Errazuriz), and had wanted to prove that Chilean wines were deserving of being recognised on the world stage, but at the time needed an inroad to the international wine scene which largely dismissed Chilean wines as cheap and of moderate quality at best. 

The Aconcagua Valley in Chile.

The Catalyst Needed To Make Chile Happen

Thus when Eduardo was asked by a family friend to bring Robert Mondavi around the Chilean vineyards, he was of course more than happy to do so. Through their week long travels, Mondavi was convinced that Chile's Aconcagua Valley (north of the capital Santiago), which led up to the Pacific Ocean, did indeed show some promise - the same promise that California had demonstrated back in the 1970s before it became big. Mondavi would let Eduardo on exactly how he was going to make the wine world take notice - Sena would have to produce a wine in the classic Bordeaux tradition and demonstrate it could go head to head with France's legendary chateaux. 

Eduardo Chadwick (left) with Robert Mondavi (right).

Having collaborated with Chateau Mouton-Rothschild's Baron Philippe de Rothschild on creating the hit Napa Valley wine Opus One just years ago, the idea of collaborating on Sena probably felt like another star in the making for Mondavi. And so Mondavi and Eduardo Chadwick would embark on a four year search for the perfect location, ultimately landing on 42 hectares (of a staggering total 350 hectare estate) of varied gravel, clay and loamy soils at the eastern base of the Andes Mountains in the Aconcagua Valley, just 40km away from the Pacific Ocean.

The Making Of Chile's First Icon Wine

They had figured that it would be best to seek out a cooler microclimate that could produce a fresher and more elegant wine than what Chile was putting out at the time, and the location selected was also relatively self-contained and thus offered more control over the vineyards' ambient environment. It also provided meltwater from the mountain ranges that served as irrigation water for the vineyards. The climate would be best characterised as Mediterranean with warm, dry summers and cold, rainy winters, with an added shelf of cool air coming from the Pacific Ocean's Humboldt Current and added down-drift winds from the Andes Mountains. This had the effect of extending the ripening period which in turn allows the fruit to develop richer and more robust flavours, with ripe tannins and a crisp acidity.

The recognisable Sena label would be designed by Mondavi's team, meant to evoke the idea of a wax seal on a medieval charter, with the roundel holding the name Sena, layered upon burnished copper, in a Spanish style design that is further cushioned by lapis lazuli, with a cursive handwritten-styled script going lengthwise down the bottle. The vineyard would also be designed by acclaimed landscape architect Juan Grimm.

Adding That Chilean Spice

With the location and brand set by 1995, it was time to have the vines growing. Following the advice of Mondavi, a classic Bordeaux mix would be planted - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Carmenere just to give it that Chilean touch. Sena would see its first vintage in the very same year 1995, with the fruit used having been sourced from further up the Aconcagua Valley in Errazuriz's original vineyard. This would be gradually reduced until 2004 when all of Sena's fruit was fully from its own vineyards.

While the original idea was to create a Bordeaux-style wine with a Chilean touch, the mix has changed over the years to focus more on elegance and tension, as opposed to fruit vs oak. Merlot was found to be inconsistent with the terroir and was eventually discontinued, with the current mix being focused largely on Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Carmenere. As for the winemaking, which has been helmed by Francisco Baettig since 2003, the fruit is hand-picked, de-stemmed and fermented in stainless steel with a small proportion of new oak. It is pumped over three times daily to extract colour and flavour, spending between three weeks to a month on skins, before being racked into new oak for around 22 months. Originally Sena had followed in the Bordeaux tradition of using 100% new oak, but now has moved towards 75% new oak, as well as using larger barrels to achieve better oak integration.

Settling The Score Once And For All, Or Maybe 21 Times

“The Berlin Tasting came upon my frustration that critics were not really recognizing the quality of our wines because they knew they were Chilean, and Chile was a new country coming into the world stage.”

Now by 2000, everything was ready and set up for Sena to hit the big time. In his mind, Chile was just as top notch a producer as any other, so long as it had the right execution, the terroir was already there. After a decade of giving the project everything it could possible need to produce outstanding wines, Eduardo had wanted to finally see Chile receive the recognition it deserved - all it took was for the world to change its mind about Chile's wines. No small feat by any standard.

The 2004 Berlin Tasting.

Going back to the California playbook, Eduardo had began to toy with the idea of giving Chile the equivalent of what the 1976 Judgement of Paris did for California's wines. What was a rather small (by today's standards!), albeit highly publicised blind tasting event, had delivered a massive surprise when Californian wines had topped both the reds and the whites against the likes of Bordeaux royalty Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and Chateau Haut-Brion. This prompted the wine community's re-evaluation of California's wines leading to a spectacular upgrade in its reputation and global standing - just what Chile needed.

And thus Eduardo would seek to replicate that breakthrough moment with what he termed The Berlin Tasting - he would even have Steven Spurrier, the man behind the Judgement of Paris, to conduct the event. On 23 January 2004, the results were delivered.

Just as Eduardo had hoped, his wines, including Sena, would top the list which pared them against the likes of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Margaux and Chateau Latour from France, as well as Solaia from the land of the Super Tuscans. Subsequently, critics such as Robert Parker would further add to the validation with his 100-pointers given to Sena. The Berlin Tasting would be replicated 21 times around the world, and would deliver consistent results ranking Sena ahead of other highly-regarded estates - just the reaffirmation Sena needed to be Chile's first icon wine.

Happily Ever After For Eduardo And Sena

Since then Chilean wines have certainly been perceived with a different light, with Sena having paved the way to do so, only possible with the sheer amount of effort and resources Eduardo Chadwick had dedicated to create Sena, all stemming from its very goal at the beginning to become a Chilean icon.

Eduardo with his family.

In 2004, Eduardo would fully gain control over Sena when his collaborator Mondavi had sold his business to beverage giant Constellation Brands. In 2005, Sena would achieve biodynamic status. Today Eduardo's daughters continue to help with the Sena vineyards.

As for what the Sena signature is, it is often said to be classically rich with ripen black fruits, along with spiced and earthy notes of tobacco, cedar, licorice and a slight gamey meatiness, layered on a silky texture with fine tannins and lively acidity and freshness, that is altogether complex and well-balanced.