Serafino Rivella

Serafino Rivella is one of Barbaresco’s smallest and most revered producers, a quiet icon of traditional winemaking whose wines are treasured by collectors worldwide. The estate is located in the Montestefano cru, one of the region’s greatest vineyards, and has been in the hands of the Rivella family since the 1960s.

Everything here is done by hand. Teobaldo Rivella, the son of Serafino, works the vines himself with minimal assistance, alongside his wife Maria. Farming is organic, yields are low, and production is minuscule, just a few thousand bottles a year, all made in a tiny cellar underneath the family home.

The wines are textbook old-school Barbaresco: long macerations, ageing in large Slavonian oak casks and no filtration or manipulation. The resulting wines are pure, layered and uncompromisingly classic, with a depth and structure that allows them to age beautifully for decades.

Rivella produces only two wines: a Barbaresco from Montestefano and a Dolcetto d’Alba. Both are singular, soulful and expressive, offering a rare glimpse into the heart of traditional Piedmont.