1996 Seña

Community Tasting Notes (13) Avg Score: 89.1 points

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  2/14/2023 - SJJentzsch wrote:

  It was a fantastic wine, but this bottle unfortunately was gone. Tasted like grape juice with vinegar

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  4/8/2022 - forceberry wrote: 92 Points

  The sophomore vintage of Seña, considered by many to be one of the top red wines from Chile. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (91%) and Carménère (9%), sourced from the Errazuriz vineyards (as Seña didn't have their own vineyards back then) that are farmed according to biodynamic principles. Aged for 15 months in new oak barrels. 12,7% alcohol.
  
  Somewhat evolved and moderately translucent brick-red color with a pale orange rim. The nose feels evolved with complex aromas of autumnal leafy tones, some minty green nuances, a little bit of ripe plummy fruit and juicy blueberry, light herbaceous notes of bell pepper, woody hints of savory oak spice and pine tar, a touch of fresh blackcurrant and a whiff of cigar smoke. The wine is fresh, firm and somewhat evolved with a full body and savory flavors of ripe cassis-driven dark fruit, some meaty umami, light herbaceous notes of cooked bell pepper and leafy greenness, a little bit of crunchy redcurrants, a hint of pine tar and a sweet touch of toasty oak spice. The wine comes across as quite velvety and round in texture as the ripe, ample tannins have resolved almost completely, but the high acidity keeps the wine effortlessly in balance, lending the wine good sense of brightness and precision. The finish is ripe, fresh and quite crunchy with lengthy, savory flavors of juicy dark berries, some meaty notes of umami, a little bit of cooked bell pepper, light autumnal notes of damp leaves, a hint of toasty oak spice and a ferrous touch of blood. The tannins slowly pile up on gums, making the wine end on a more grippy note.
  
  A surprisingly fresh, precise and youthful super-Chilean. The wine certainly showed its South-American roots with its ripeness and at times quite pronounced cassis aromatics, but the overall style was far from what one would expect from such a ripe wine - the combination of modest alcohol, high acidity and surprisingly bright, crunchy fruit was something one finds very rarely in contemporary Chilean reds. Age had definitely benefited the wine - I can imagine this might've been quite an oaky wine in its youth, but now the oak had integrated remarkably well beneath the fruit, only adding some nice complexity to the (relatively little) evolved fruit nuances. Some people didn't really agree with the more herbaceous notes (most likely from Carménère), but I thought they were not dissimilar to those of a good, old-school Chinon, so I had no problems with the wine. All in all, a terrific example of an aged Chilean red. Nothing mindblowing, but still a great example how they can actually age quite gracefully. This was purchased for approx. 50€ back in 1999, and at that price this was a great purchase.

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  9/6/2019 - Brent25 Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Clear medium garnet; clean medium plus nose of cracked fall leaves, dried cherries, leather and cloves; dry; medium plus acidity; medium tannins; medium alcohol; medium body; medium plus flavour intensity; pfn with tobacco; long finish; outstanding quality; drinking beautifully but starting to fade - drink soon; paired with wagyu beef

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  3/7/2018 - The years of the grape wrote: 89 Points

  Seña 100 Points Celebration Tasting (Tokyo): Savoury and developed, with evident notes of earth, spice and vegetables (olive). There is also space for graphite, coffee beans, dry herbs and meat. Red cherries and raspberries are dried.
  Very elegant and supple refined tannins. Complex and with good aromatic intensity and length. It has still a nice acidity, but I found it a bit lean and in the end better to be drank soon.

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  11/12/2016 - Mascarello59 Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Decanter FWE. Fantastic bouquet of mint, licorice, herbs, tobacco. This wine is in a mature state with a very good combination of fruit and acidity on the palate complemented by more of those tobacco and licorice notes. Delicate and "feminine" and just gorgeous. This bottle proves its ageing ability!

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