Sena, the Chilean premium wine, is a winery on the up, regularly beating Bordeaux first growth and super Tuscany in various blind tastings. In a recent wine dinner, we had the chance to look at its 08, 07, 04, 00, and 99 vintages. Interestingly, pre 2000 wines were made from purchased grapes, while post 2000 wines are made from a mixture of purchased grapes and those from its own young vineyard.
I came with a skeptic mind, but must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of some of the vintages, and the multi-personalities of the wine - each vintage tasted like its from a different winery!
The hallmark of these wine is: ripeness, sweetness, youth accessibility, and craftsmanship - the prefect wine for the Hong Kong market!
2008 Sena - 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Carmenere,10% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc. Hot vintage conditions lead to early picking, and this was the most red-fruit driven and refreshing wine of the night. Rich, with concentrated red fruits, green capsicums, and chocolate on the nose. This is smooth, fine grained, and well-crafted in the mouth. Quite fresh, with lively acidities, a long and lingering finish, with expanding complexities. 4/5
2007 Sena - 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Carmenere, 12% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit VerdotWOTN for some, but I was not impressed. Dark fruits from grapes with prolonged hang-time, clumsy on the palate and out of balance on the finish… 3/5
2004 Sena - 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 6% Carmenere, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot. Lightest. Some secondary developments. This is lightly sweet on the nose, some spices, and hint of plastic. Good freshness though on the palate, with some fine tannins and again, sweet and easy to drink. 3/5
2000 Sena - 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17.4% Merlot, 5.6% Carmenere. Tasted blind, I would have guessed that this is a matured Gruard Larose from a ripe vintage! Sweaty saddle and stalky. Sweet, deep, and with balancing acidities. Somewhat dries out on the finish, short, but pleasant. 3.5/5
1999 Sena - 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 8% Carmenere. The most classical of the wines. I found this excellent. Earthy, austere, and long. This will be the longest living wine out of the five despite it is the eldest vintage. 4/5