Sena - Chili 2016
Rainfall arrived with some delay during the winter of 2015; the first considerable rains did not fall until towards July. Due to this, we had already set our mind to having a dry year, as we had already several years of less-than-average rainfall. Nature proved us wrong over the coming months, as the rains continued until October, and ultimately, rainfall between January and December 2015 (313 mm) was 9% higher than the historic average (288 mm). is blessing fully replenished our soils with water and eventually provided enough moisture to enable the vines to create perfectly balanced canopies.
Along with the rain came cooler temperatures during spring, delaying bud break in 8 to 10 days as compared with the previous season. This slight time lag continued until owering, which nevertheless took place evenly during mid-November once the spring temperatures had picked up, providing ideal conditions for a healthy fruit set. Summer reached a heat summation that was 1% higher than our average records. Even though January had warm days, veraison arrived 10 days later than average due to delays held over from the cool spring. The warm summer weather continued all throughout February, allowing the crop homogenize before getting into the cool days of March that slowed down the ripening process.
The harvest at our Seña Vineyard reached maturity later than in the previous season. It was mostly concentrated during the first fortnight of April, except for the Malbec, which was picked in late of March and the Carmenere, picked during the last week of April, just ather the rains that arrived halfway through the month, reaching historical records of 79 mm. the wines have deliciously round tannins and are bolstered by a bright and balanced level of acidity. The flavours of each varietal truly stand out in this vintage, and the quality of the wines is a testament to the quality of Seña’s terroir.
The grapes were handpicked in the morning and transported to the winery in 12 kg boxes for a careful inspection on a double sorting table to eliminate plant matter and defective berries. The grapes were fermented in stainless steel tanks at 23°–28°C (73°–82°F), depending on the variety and the level of extraction desired. three pumpovers were carried out daily during fermentation to rotate 0.5-1.5 times the volume of the tank. Total maceration time ranged from 15 to 30 days for the Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Malbec and Cabernet Franc, and 8 to 12 days for the Petit Verdot, according to the
development of each block vinified. The final blend was racked to French oak barrels (73% new) and aged for 22 months, during which time malolactic fermentation and stabilization occurred naturally.