Master Winemaker 100: Sebastián Labbé

The head winemaker for high-end wines at Chile’s Viña Santa Rita features in this year’s Master Winemaker 100 guide. He tells db about lessons from his father, prioritising harmony over perfection and the parallels between the ocean and the vineyard.

Born in Chile with a passion for wine and sport, Sebastián Labbé’s restless spirit saw him study Viticulture & Oenology at Lincoln University in New Zealand. After graduation, he worked at Tyrrell’s in Australia, before returning to New Zealand for a stint at boutique winery Margrain Vineyard in Martinborough. After moving back to Chile, in 2005 Labbé started work at Viña Carmen, where he was head winemaker until 2017. Then came the opportunity to become winemaker for sister brand Viña Santa Rita’s portfolio of ultra-premium wines, which includes the historic Casa Real.

A wise person once told me that we should listen twice as much as we talk. My dad always reminded us that’s the reason why humans have two ears and only one mouth. It makes more and more sense.

A great wine should have balance, energy, precision, consistency over time and a real sense of place.

A great winemaker should stay humble and learn how to listen to the vineyard. Our job is to read the season, guide the vineyard and make decisions that let the site speak, not our ego.

Perfection is not my goal. I rather look for harmony, where every element flows naturally and complements to make a great wine.

The thing I’d most like to change about the wine world is that I would love to humanise wine more, to bring it closer to people. So often we make it very complicated.

I wish I could tell the consumer who drinks my wine how much effort and love goes into that bottle. It’s the story of a place and our team interpreting that site.

The last time I asked a sommelier for advice, it was about what excites them now. I like hearing what moves people emotionally – it keeps you grounded in why we make wine in the first place.

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If I couldn’t be a winemaker, I’d probably be out in the ocean surfing, sailing and fishing. The connections between instinct, balance, dealing with nature and using it to your advantage have a lot in common.

I wish our vineyards could live and stay healthy for centuries. Time is something you cannot buy, and old vineyards have that uniqueness of character.

My next ambition is to keep fine-tuning everything: the vineyards, the wines, the balance between work and life. Great wines come from long-term vision, not urgency.

If I won the lottery, I’d still be in the vineyard and making wine for sure, but I would love to travel around the world with my family, to open our minds so we could start our own project.

If there were more hours in the day, I’d spend them with my wife and kids, walking the vineyards and in the ocean. Those are the moments where the best ideas appear.

When it’s all going wrong, I go for a surf or walk through the vineyards. Either way, you’re reminded that nature resets everything – including yourself.

My desert island wine would be Casa Real 1998, a vintage I have fallen in love with.