2020 Seña, Aconcagua Valley, Chile

Balanced, intense, raspberry, bilberry, balsamic, dill, tar, grilled cedar and sandalwood. Welcoming and confident, classic Seña swagger, the balance and savoury spice notes arrive if you allow it to sit in the glass. This was a hot and dry vintage, very little rain over the winter before the season began, and the main challenge throughout was water availability. There are wells at the Seña vineyard, and their location closer to the Pacific helps moderate tempatures, but they also picked one week earlier than 2019, and upped the Malbec in the blend because it kept freshness and acidity, and helped with the aromatics. The result is more powerful and opulent than recent vinages, with an emphasis on cocoa bean and dark mint chocolate on the finish. A wine of layers that absolutely delivers on the house style, not easy to maintain in such dry vintages. 10% 2,500l oak casks for ageing, with 70% new French oak, biodynamic farming. Francisco Baettig winemaker.