Viña Errazuriz has acquired total control of Viña Seña and Arboleda, two brands formerly part owned by the Robert Mondavi Corporation.
The company announced late last week that Eduardo Chadwick had bought the 50% share in Viña Seña and Arboleda, which were set up in 1995 and 1999 with Mondavi founder Robert Mondavi.
The entire Mondavi Corporation was bought by Constellation Brands last month, but under the terms of the original agreement between Mondavi and Errazuriz, either partner had the right to buy his share in the event of a sale.
The same agreement stands between Mondavi and Domaines Barons de Rothschild over Opus One.
When Viña Seña was set up – the first release was the 1996 vintage – it was heralded as Chile’s first icon wine, and the Cabernet/Merlot/Carmenere blend from the Aconcagua Valley went on to win plaudits in the industry. A second joint venture, Arboleda, followed in 1996 with a first vintage in 1999.
Errazuriz president Eduardo Chadwick said the wine had been developed in close consultation with Robert, Tim and Michael Mondavi. The team, he said, had the common goal ‘to produce a flagship wine from Chile to be in the company of the best wines of the world.’
Marketing director Eduardo Wexman told decanter.com the decision to take control of Viña Seña and Arboleda had been made when Mondavi put its top brands on the market in October.
He said no discussions had been held regarding any part winemaker Tim Mondavi or Michael Mondavi – both of whom recently resigned senior positions in the Mondavi company – might play in the ongoing development of the Viña Seña brand.
There would be no changes at Seña, Wexman said. ‘We will move ahead with all our current projects, planting more vineyards and concentrating on getting more quality in the bottle.’
Written by Adam Lechmere
