The Drink Business
par Colin Hay le 02/09/2024
Seña 2022 (Valle del Aconcagua; 60% Cabernet Sauvignon; 25% Malbec; 9% Carmenere; 6% Petit Verdot; aged in oak barrels, 70% of which are new, and foudres; 13.5% alcohol; tasted twice, the second time with Francisco Baettig over Zoom). Wild and herbal, spicy and quite meaty too, with a wild, dusty earthy streak to it. Impressively floral, more and more so as it inhales and relaxes in the glass, with lavender, thyme and violet, a hint of rose, maybe a suggestion of saffron. Blood orange. Blue and black fruit. The rose petal notes bloom with time and gentle aeration. There’s also lots of fresh bright peppery notes – crushed green, rose and Szechuan peppercorns. Turmeric and cumin too. On the palate this is fresh, gracious, bright, lifted and very lithe and dynamic, above all in the luminous and crystalline mid-palate. Sinuous. Glistening and rippling on the finish. Almost gentle. Certainly one of the more delicate vintages of this wine that I’ve tasted. Long. Fine-grained and ripe tannins aided but the slow and stable maturation, due to residual water presence. More structured on the finish than the 2021. Singular. 97.