Wine critics have united in their praise for the 2021 Seña and 2021 Rocas de Seña. It’s been described by the CEO of Seña’s UK importer, Patrick McGrath Master of Wine as, “Without doubt the best Seña that I have ever tasted” and awarded a perfect 100 from, James Suckling, and 98+ from The Wine Advocate. This is undoubtedly a vintage of Seña that every Chilean wine lover will want in their cellar.
So what makes wines from Seña so special in 2021? In this latest blog from MWH Wine – the home of affordable fine wine – we’ll look at the conditions that allowed this iconic Chilean wine to reach new heights.
The 2021 Chilean Wine Vintage
Great wines are a combination of nature and winemaking brilliance. Nature gifted winemaker Francisco Baettig a superb opportunity in 2021, due to moderately cool conditions translating into a slow smooth ripening of the grapes. While the Seña and Rocas de Seña are very different wines, they share traits of elegance, purity, and structure. The 2021 Seña is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Malbec, 17% Carmenere and 6% Petit Verdot so its roots are Bordelaise, whereas the Rocas de Seña with its 35% Malbec, 21% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Grenache, 9% Petit Verdot and 5% Mourvèdre is a Mediterranean meets Bordeaux blend. Both are compelling wines.
The Weather
The season saw average rainfall with 282mm falling between May and October and this enabled the aquifers in the valley to recover their levels ready for the coming season. With a total heat summation of 1,425 heating degree days (HDD), slightly fresher than historical averages, that created an ideal slow growing season. In spring, the temperatures were within historical levels favouring a perfect fruit set. The summer was slightly cooler and cloudier than other years, with some refreshing rain (9mm) in late January, which ensured a gentle ripening of healthy grapes.
During late March, the Seña vineyards were blessed with moderately warm days, allowing the grapes to reach perfect maturity. The harvest got underway as expected with Malbec between late March and mid-April. Next came the Cabernet Sauvignon in the first two weeks of April, overlapping with the Petit Verdot in the second and third weeks of April. They finalized the harvest with the Carmenere. The 2021 vintage will be remembered as an exceptional year with ideal conditions resulting in a vibrant wine of great purity. A wine with high aromatic complexity, refreshing acidity, and a delicious linear palate with fine-grained tannins. A vintage with an extraordinary ageing potential.
Buy Rocas de Seña and Seña 2021
MWH Wine has secured an allocation of both the Rocas de Seña and Seña 2021. You can buy Seña 2021 here and order the Rocas de Seña by clicking here. Both are set to become Chilean wine legends and both have long, glorious futures ahead of them.
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Critic scores for the Seña 2021
100 points, James Suckling
An extremely pure and elegant vintage for Seña. 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. Very discreet and subtle, with the elegance, freshness and poise you’d expect from 2021. Medium- to full-bodied on the palate with a bit more flesh and depth if you compare it with Roca de Seña, their second wine. The impeccable tannins show the supreme quality of the fruit this year. Persistent, seamless finish, but comes in a subtle way. 50% cabernet sauvignon, 27% malbec, 17% carmenere and 6% petit verdot. Effortlessly drinkable now, but it will age beautifully.
98+ points, Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
One of the finest vintages of the iconic Seña wine, the 2021 Seña comes from a cooler year, following the path of 2016 and 2018, certainly cooler than 2020 and 2019. It has a super expressive nose that is elegant, nuanced, perfumed, subtle and pure, with aromatic finesse, layered and complex. It was picked a couple of weeks later than in the previous two years and still keeping the alcohol below 14%. It was produced with a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Malbec (cooler years with more),17% Carmenere and 6% Petit Verdot, fermented mostly in stainless steel and 10% in oak foudre. It's fine-grained and structured but juicy, similar to2018 but with more finesse. It has the spicy/herbal twist from the Cabernet, ultra-refined tannins that give it great elegance and with length, purity and delineation. Superb! 120,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2023.
98 points, Tim Atkin
You can’t escape the conclusions of the vintage,” says Francisco Baettig and he’s right about this latest release of Seña, which ranks alongside the best recent iterations of this Chilean icon, every bit as good as the 2018 in my view. Deftly curated in 70% new oak, it’s a masterclass in blending from a great winemaker, partnering Cabernet Sauvignon with 27% Malbec (increased because of the cooler vintage), 17% Carmenère and 6% Petit Verdot. Fresh, perfume and self-assured, it’s still a very primary wine with a long life ahead of it, combining subtle coffee bean notes with plenty of fresh acidity, bramble, blueberry, and blackcurrant leaf flavours and a hint of fine, stony reduction.
96 points, Vinous
The 2021 Seña is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with 27% Malbec, 17% Carménère and 6% Petit Verdot from Ocoa in the Aconcagua Valley. It was aged for 22 months, 90% in French oak barrels (70% new) and 10% in foudres. Purple with a garnet sheen. The nose presents vivid redcurrant and blackcurrant notes with a layer of garrigue against a cigar box backdrop. Dry in the mouth, refreshing acidity stirs up finely grained tannins to channel the palate. A lingering, fruity red that will grow in the bottle.
Critic scores for the Roca de Seña 2021
96 points, James Suckling
Very racy, vibrant and intense with a heap of pure red fruit, full of strawberries, red cherries and a hint of spice, flowers and blue fruit. A subtle twist of mineral, too. Medium-bodied, linear, long and subtle on the palate, sandwiched by very fine, polished tannins. Precision and purity are the words. Elegant and slightly austere with a very long, subtle finish. 35% malbec, 21% syrah, 20% cabernet sauvignon, 10% grenache, 9% petit verdot and 5% mourvedre. 50,000 bottles made, which is a little more than the 2020 vintage. Drink or hold.
94 points, Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
The second vintage of their second wine, the 2021 Rocas de Seña is less opulent and with more tension and floral aromas (but with power too) than the 2020. It was produced with a blend of 35% Malbec, 21% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Grenache, 9% Petit Verdot, and, for the first time, 5% Mourvedre. Grenache and Mourvedre were planted in 2005 on the family's other property that was first planted in 1999 with Syrah. It's a little below the 14% alcohol stated on the label. It fermented mostly in stainless steel and some concrete eggs for the Garnacha, and it aged separately before being blended, lowering the total time in barrel to 18 to 20 months. It's floral, perfumed, elegant, and expressive, with herbal freshness and a spicy twist from the barrels. The palate is fine-boned, balanced, and elegant. You notice the different aromatic and gustative palette when tasted next to Seña, with fine-grained, chalky tannins. This is a noteworthy second label with drinkability and aging capability. 50,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2023.
94 points, Tim Atkin
This is the second release of Rocas and it’s a definite step up on the 2020, reflecting the cooler, better balanced growing season. Including 5% Mourvèdre for the first time, it’s a Bordeaux-meets-the-Mediterranean blend of Malbec with 24% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Grenache and 9% Petit Verdot. The 40% new oak is well handled, framing a deeply coloured, nuanced palate of cassis, blackberry and chocolate, embellished by notes of violet and sweet spices, fine-grained tannins and a bright, refreshing finish.
93 points, Vinous
The 2021 Rocas de Seña is a blend of 35% Malbec, 21% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Grenache, 9% Petit Verdot, and 5% Mourvèdre from Ocoa in the Aconcagua Valley. It was aged for 22 months, 95% in French oak barrels (40% new) and 5% in concrete eggs. Purple in hue. The complex nose presents pomegranate and fresh plum notes with hints of sage, garrigue, and flowers over a faint bed of ash. Dry and smooth in the mouth, refreshing acidity supports polished, juicy tannins. A balanced wine of lingering fruity flavor. Quite young right now, it will grow in the bottle.
