Thirty vintages of Seña

On Friday 11 September 2026 we hosted Eduardo Chadwick for lunch at Oswald's in Mayfair, to mark thirty vintages of Seña. Around twenty-five guests tasted the 1998, 2009, 2011, 2017 and 2021 before the 2024, which was being shown in the UK for the first time. After the lunch we offered the 2024 to those in the room and to our private clients. This is the story behind the wine.

A drive through Chile

Seña starts with a car journey. In 1991 Robert Mondavi came to Chile to see what the country could do, and Eduardo Chadwick, whose family owns Viña Errázuriz, drove him through Aconcagua, Maipo and Colchagua. The two kept talking, and in 1995 they formed a joint venture with one aim: a single Chilean red that could stand beside the well-known estates of Bordeaux and California. The first vintage was the 1995, released in 1997. The name means "sign" or "signal" in Spanish.

A vineyard of its own

In 1998 the partners bought and planted a hillside site at Ocoa, in the Aconcagua Valley, between the Andes and the coastal range. It covers 42 hectares and is now the sole source of the wine. Conversion to biodynamic farming began in 2005. Cabernet Sauvignon leads the blend, Carmenere gives it a Chilean accent, and other Bordeaux varieties make up the rest.

Berlin, 2004

In January 2004 Chadwick put his wines in front of a panel of European critics in Berlin. They were tasted blind against Château Lafite, Château Margaux and Château Latour from the 2000 and 2001 vintages, and against leading Tuscan reds. Steven Spurrier, who had run the Paris tasting of 1976, led the day. Viñedo Chadwick 2000 came first and Seña 2001 came second. In the same year the Mondavi company was sold, and the Chadwick family took full ownership of Seña. Chadwick repeated the exercise in other cities in the years that followed, later with older vintages, to show that the wine ages as well.

The 2024

The 2024 is the thirtieth vintage. At the lunch the 1998 was a reminder of the Mondavi years, and several guests named it and the 2011 as their favourites among the older wines. The 2024 arrives in the UK in December 2026, in cases of six, in bond. If you would like to know more, or to be told should older vintages become available from the estate, please get in touch. There are photographs from the day on our Events page.