The wines reviewed in this report are marketed in the Sebaste Selection Line, with the exception of the Moscato d’Asti, which is marketed in the Classic Line. The Selection Line includes bottlings that are subject to long aging and reveal the top quality of this winery’s portfolio.
Over the past year there have been no marked changes in the level of toasting of the barrels they use, but as in the preceding vintage, the move has settled in on a modest use of new wood. In a broad sense most of their wines are aged in a significant percentage of large casks, especially for their excellent Barolo Trèsüri.
The Alta Langa Avremo continues to not be sold in the stateside market, which I consider a pity. It’s an excellent, well-crafted sparkling wine, that competes extremely well with Franciacorta and Champagne, but you can acquire it in the European market.
The winery continues to inoculate their wines using selected yeasts because they prefer their ability to manage the cleanliness and focus of the aromatics due to their commitment to bringing olfactory cleanliness to the market.
New in this review is the first ever vintage of Barbera Superiore DOCG, Nizza Riserva “Bricco Nizza” which is a profoundly exceptional Barbera Riserva. The winery wasn’t certain whether or not it would be imported to the US market, but this wine is so impressive that I urge all readers to keep an eye peeled for it. As mentioned in my previous Sebaste feature a year ago, beginning with the 2024 harvest, they introduced the use of truncated conical wooden vats during maceration in the vinification of their Nebbiolo da Barolo grapes. Also note the Barolo Riserva, Ghè has been bottled in both the 2020 and 2021 vintages and is now aging in their cellars in preparation for release.
The Sebaste winery continues to produce exceptional wine, and I highly recommend seeking their wines out. They are well priced and offer premier value in a challenging wine market where the price of many of their competitor’s wines has become atmospheric. The power of competition always rules the day!
2024 Mauro Sebaste, Moscato d’Asti DOCG (RT91) This bottling is a classic Piedmontese expression of sparkling 100% Moscat Blanc. With its light gold hue and bubbling fizz, the 2024 Sebaste Moscato shows notes of candied mandarin orange, honeysuckle, lychee and a pinch of honeyed ginger. The frothy palate is sweet and delicious with a supple, refined mid palate and a succulent soft finish. Very well balanced and proportioned, everything is in check. Quite quaffable and a perfect pairing with sweet desserts. Drink now-2028 Tasted June 2025
Crafted from Moscat Blanc grapes grown in vineyards near the Mango village, the Bricco Avene e Schiasso vineyard is relatively high at roughly 500 meters. The grapes for this wine are harvested manually and kept in a chilled room for a couple of days and then further selected on a vibrating table before being gently soft pressed. After cold decanting in stainless tanks under controlled temperature, the must is clarified and then fermentation begins. After reaching 5% alcohol the temperature is lowered to halt fermentation, leaving behind the classic sweetness that defines this dessert wine, which hovers at 140 grams per liter. This wine remains in stainless for an additional month and is then bottled and shipped to market.
2021 Mauro Sebaste, Alta Langa DOCG, Metodo Classico, Extra Brut, Avremo (RT93+) The 2021 Avremo is crafted in a decidedly Blanc de Blancs style, with sharply focused, linear and edgy palate notes and a bouquet that could fool many Champagne lovers. Lovely fine bubbles and a lifted bouquet of crisp green apple, Rainer cherry, lemon curd and zest, hints of biscuit, and oyster shell complete the delivery. Like the 2020, the palate of the 2021 Avremo is laser focused and surprises me that there’s not a high percentage of Chardonnay in this wine. This will soften and round out with some medium term cellaring and will drink well through the early 2030s. A beautiful expression of sparking Piedmontese wine, if you can find it, you’ll be rewarded. Drink now-2035 Tasted June 2025
The name of this sparkling wine, one of Mauro’s more recent passions, comes from the names of the three source vineyards of the fruit: AVene, REmondà and MOrtizza combined with a creative imagination. These are relatively high vineyards in the +/- 500 meter range, which is perfect for growing the multi-cloned Pinot Noir (80%) and Chardonnay (20%) that are blended into this Zero Dosage, aka Dosaggio Zero Millesimo, bottling. The second fermentation in bottle lasts 30 months, prior to final corking. To my knowledge this wine is NOT currently distributed in the USA, but that could change at a moment’s notice.
2021 Sebaste, Barbera Superiore DOCG, Nizza Riserva “Bricco Nizza” (RT95) Brand new this year is the Nizza Riserva “Bricco Nizza”, which ages for 24 months in large French oak casks, followed by 6 months in the bottle prior to release. To call this impressive may be a bit of an understatement. It sends up a refined and elegant bouquet of deeply ripe Sylvan blackberry compote, bramble berries, Empress plums, underbrush, hints of light roast coffee and dried florals. The bouquet is refined and focused, delivering an elegant, yet powerful aromatic display, while the palate is equally refined and focused, showing marvelous balance, fresh acidity and long sweet tannins on an excellent finish. This is a masterful wine, and for anyone serious about Piedmontese wines one to lay down in your cellar. Magnificent! Drink 2025-2035+ Tasted June 2025
Aged in French cask for 24 months, this 100% Barbera hails from the Nizzi DOCG located in Vinchio, about 10 miles south south-east of Asti. This is prime Barbera country, and this wine expresses the majestic side of the variety, where the old vines – 60 to 70 years intermixed with some younger vines – are planted in sandy soils with silt and veins of clay. This is the first vintage of Nizza Riserva “Bricco Nizza” and now 6 vintages into this project – which was launched in 2015 – it is shaping up impressively with the release of this new Riserva “Bricco Nizza”!
2021 Mauro Sebaste, Barolo, Trèsüri (RT95) In 2021 the Trèsüri packs a serious punch with the structure and the profound age worthiness of the vintage showing in spades. Perfectly ripe fruit and an ideal harvest reveal notes of dark sweet cherries, pomegranate compote, red currants, hints of cinnamon, sweet herbs and a sliver of minerality. The palate is mesmerizingly complete and balanced, the acidity fresh and invigorating leading to a long sustained finish. This is a gorgeous expression of Barolo, one that checks all the boxes and balances in a lovely space between traditional and modernista. I suggest buying some for drinking sooner and the rest for laying down and witnessing the magic that only proper cellaring can bring out! Drink 2026-2050+ Tasted June 2025
A blend of grapes from three different cru vineyards: Verduno’s Cru Breri, which is near Monvigliero (utilized for the fruit’s floral, fleshier aspect), La Morra’s Cru Roncaglie (added for its elegant, fine grained, sophisticated tannin) and Cerretta in Serralunga (added for structure and depth). This wine gets longer aging than most classico Barolo: 36 months in a combination of 1600 liter and 400 liter tonneaux. The result is clean and bright, with a sophisticated mouth feel and is an excellent food wine!
2021 Mauro Sebaste, Barolo, Cerretta (RT96) the 2021 Sebaste Cerretta is deeply nuanced and loaded with layers of ripe Morello cherry, cranberry liqueur, succulent ripe red raspberry, crunchy forest floor, aromatic cedar and wisps of minerality. This is an ultra classic vintage of Cerretta built of perfectly ripe fruit that vibrates with energy and power produced by its structure. The acids and uber ripe tannins maintain a decided freshness that keeps one returning to the glass for another sip. This will age timelessly and is a very impressive bottling from the benchmark 2021 vintage! One to own! Drink 2028-2050+ Tasted June 2025
Barolo Cerretta is crafted from a single plot aged in 400 liter French oak tonneaux for 36 months, and is sourced from estate-grown fruit from the historical Cerretta vineyard in Serralunga. This impressive bottling is aged for three years in French oak, 400-500 liter tonneaux, employing mixed new and mostly used barrels. 2016 was the first vintage in which Sebaste partially bottled with the DIAM cork, closing 20% of the production with it. In 2020 they increased the percentage of DIAM use and the bottle I sampled was closed with DIAM.
2019 Mauro Sebaste, Barolo Riserva, Ghè (RT97) The 2019 Riserva Ghè is a thing of magnificence and is superbly refined and meticulously crafted. Undoubtedly one of Sebaste’ most impressive wines ever, every detail is perfectly crafted and precisely dosed to create a wine of epic grandeur. Deeply ripe, sensually stimulating notes of ripe red cherries, powerful and pungent ripe Ariel plums, aromatic balsam, layers of structured minerality and a firmly finessed puff of limestone dust. The palate is seamless, and layered with perfectly ripe fruit, magnificent sublime yet fresh acidity and a sultry tannic finish. Sebaste hit this one out of the park, an amazing Nebbiolo expression, bravo! Drink 2027-2055+ Tasted June 2025
Riserva Ghè comes from a small monopole plot of old vines in the Cerretta vineyard that produces just 800-1,000 bottles of this wine and in only the top vintages. This wine is 100% Michet clone which is green harvested to yield a mere 3 clusters per plant. Meticulously hand harvested, after gentle pressing the wine is aged in 400 liter French oak tonneaux for 30 months, followed by an additional 30 months in bottle prior to release. This vintage – and the previous one – are closed with DIAM cork, a change from the 2016 vintage.