Jamie Goode’s wine blog, UK, Sunday, October 05 2008 “Seductive Italian red” “Guerrieri Rizzardi Pojega Ripasso Classico 2006 – A single-vineyard wine made primarily from Corvina and Corvinone grape varieties, then aged in oak. It shows sweet cherry and berry fruit character with a liqueur-like purity, as well as some subtle earthy, spicy elements in the background It’s really quite elegant with good concentration, yet at the same time a lightness and purity to the fruit. There’s a bit of textural richness but it never loses it fresh, cherryish fruity character. 90/100”

Sunday Express Magazine, UK, August 3 2008 Jamie Goode “Guerrieri Rizzardi Bardolino Chiaretto, 2007 – A deep pink color, this is tangy, fresh and brightly fruited. It’s packaged with flavours of cranberries and herbs making it a sophisticated rosé that is highly food-compatable.”

Jamie Goode’s wine blog, UK Wednesday July 09, 2008 “Bardolino” “Guerrieri Rizzardi Bardolino Classico 2007 – Light in color, this is like a very dark rose more than a red wine. Sweet, bright cherry fruit dominates the nose and palate. It’s quite rounded, with a rich texture, a hint of sappiness and just a touch of spicy tannin on the finish. Joyful and quite drinkable, but would work well with a range of foods too. There’s a place for this sort of wine. 87/100”

Jamie Goode’s wine blog, UK Saturday, July 05 2008 “Soave” “Guerrieri Rizzardi Costeggiola 2007 Soave Classico – A single vineyard blend of Garganega and Chardonnay. Quite deep yellow color. Fresh and herby with citrussy notes and a slightly pithy bitterness. A full flavoured wine with a tangy finish. Distinctive. 89/100

La Cucina Italiana, USA July/ August 2008 “the goods wine” Paolo Becarelli “Bardolino Chiaretto Guerrieri Rizzardi – Made from local grape varietals including rondinella, corvina and molinara, this wine is enjoyable, clean, and smells like wild grass and raspberries.”

The Daily Telegraph, UK June 28th 2008 “Macho Reds” Jonathan Ray “2001 Villa Rizzardi Amarone della Valpolicella - Guerrieri Rizzardi makes the best Soave I’ve tasted and its amarone is a thing of wonder. Made from ripe dried grapes, the wine is rich and robust with a dry finish. Fantastic with prune-stuffed loin of pork.”

 Winorama.com.au Australia June 22, 2008 Gary Walsh “Guerrieri Rizzardi “Pojega” Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC Ripasso 2005 – It’s a blend of 85% Corvina and Corvinone and 15% Rondinella and Molinara but is 100% delicious as often only a good italian can be. I cannot imaging anyone not enjoying this wine. It smells of black cherry with a touch of smoke, new leather and sweet dried herb – good and rich. On the palate medium bodied but fat and lush with dried cherry, herb, bitter almond and gentle earthy character. It has good extract with dry grainy toothsome tannins, seemingly low acid (although balanced) and good exit leaving the mouth dry and clean. It’s just a great wine to drink.”  92 Points

Decanter.com June 2008 “Recommendations Decanter Great Italian Fine Wine Encounter 2008 The top wines” “Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso, Pojega, Guerrieri Rizzardi Black Peper and chocolate with a dense cherry and blueberry nose. Seductive and decadent, with an elegant earthiness and tobacco leaf touch. Very lingering, with a sweet and mineral blackberry finish 4 Stars”

Irish Independent Weekend, Novembre 2007, “Sparkle and Shine” Katherine Donnelly Rizzardi Prosecco di Valdobbadene Extra Dry NV is a delicious light and frothy mouthful, with crisp citrus and pear flavours. A great aperitif (add a splash of crème cassis and you have a kir), or the Rizzardi family also recommend it as an accompaniment to a light lunch or with Asian foods.

The Journal, UK, October 2007, Wine with a hint of Steel” Geoff Adams Guerrieri Rizzardi Costeggiola Soave DOC Classico 2006 “Garganega blended with 30 percent Chardonnay.  It’s the hugely appealing nose, full of white flowers, rose pedal and orange blossom that grabs your attention immediately. This one of finest of all the wines of Soave – what a myriad complexity will unfold to be revealed year by year as this beautiful wines ages, I wonder.”

The Sunday Business Post, UK, October 2007, “Wine’s aristocratic status” Tomâs Clancy “…Guerrieri Rizzardi tries to produce the best versions of wines that have been made on its lands for centuries, using sustainable practises that have preserved the vineyards since the 1400’s. The wine producer is a campaigner for the continued predominance of the local grape varieties, such as Corvina, and less well known white varieties such as Marco Bono and Garganega…The wines are some of the finest examples of the Veneto’s wines. The Contessa and her oenologist son Giuseppe have saught to produce wines that are unswayed by transient commercial tastes and rather aim to produce classical, savoury, adult wines of longevity and complexity…”

Saturday Irish Times Magazine, October 2007, Wine, “Retail Therapy” Joe Breen Pojega 2005, Ripasso Valpolicella, Guerrieri Rizzardi, “Ripasso (to repass) wines involve a technique in which juices of the Rondinella (85%) and Molinara grapes are passed over the pressed skins of Amarone grapes before spending a year in French oak. The result is an intense, dry, dark-fruited wine that demands strongly flavoured meat dishes.”

Sunday Irish Tribune September 2007, Wine, “Autumn Reds” John Wilson Valpolicella Ripasso Pojega 2005, 14/20 “A superbly crafted wine with rich dark cherry fruits, overlaid with notes of coffee and some welcome tannins on the finish. Drink with roasted wild duck with a wine sauce.”

Sunday Politis News, Cyprus, Purple Magazine September 2007 Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, Guerrieri Rizzardi 82/100 “..one of the best 2 to 3 Prosecco’s in the Cyprus marketplace…”

Dagbladet, Norway September 2007  Pojega Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2005, 4 Dice, “…dried berries, leather and cinnamon in the nose. Sweetness of cherries in the mouth…”

Sunday Irish Tribune August 2007, Wine, “Pink and Bubbly” John Wilson Rosa Rosae, 2006, Rosato Veronse, Italy “It featured earlier this year, but this is one of my finds of the summer; delicious ripe smooth cherry fruits with a touch of real class. Light and elegant, this will charm the most hardened rosé hater.”

The Irish Independent, July 2007 Fine Wine & Food Guide Guerrieri Rizzardi Prosecco, Prosecco is sparking wine that no self processed fashionista worth her salt is not sipping this season…No, seriously this is the trendiest of wines right now. Lighter in style than champagne, it is a very easy-drinking bottle of fizz. It’s also a hell of a lot cheaper…I like this one particularly for its easily fruity style and fine bubbles. Crack one open and enjoy.

Irish Times, May 2007, Wine, “Bottles of the Week” Joe Breen Rosa Rosae 2006, Guerrieri Rizzardi, “Here’s something to go with a sunny garden. Light red frut, soft and clean in the mouth and a smooth finish. And at 12% abv you can indulge in another glass and stand to tell the tale.”

Decanter Magazine, April 2007, p 41 “Margaret Rand’s Top New Valpolicellas: Best Buys” Guerrieri Rizzardi, Pojega Ripasso, Classico Superiore 2004, 5 stars “Closet Tight and very long, with lots of perfume and plum skin fruit tucked inside great concentration. Up to 2010.”

Decanter Magazine, April 2007 pp 40-4 “In Focus: Valpolicella – Key Players.” Margaret Rand “The Guerrieri Rizzardi Valpolicellas are subtle, elegant and serious. Winemaker Giuseppe Rizzardi selects around 25% of the grapes for drying, and is currently researching where the aromatics in Amarone come from – they emerge, he says, with a long drying period. Shorten the drying period and you don’t get them.”

Aperitif, Sweden April 2007 “The Modern Servant” Joel Bergastrom Agerskov "2005 Guerrieri Rizzardi Costeggiola Soave. Soave is an old servant in Sweden, a servant that thanks to this “single vineyard” wine deserves a little more attention then it usually gets. In the nose, is young fruit and clean, with green apples and slight sense of ripe gooseberry, but most of all you find the typical Soave pear fruitiness, grey pears and the slightest tone of pear sweets. The taste is just young, very fresh and clean, with lots of pears and tones of almond. Perfect as a glass of its own where the light, elegant fruit really shows or to lighter meals with steamed white fish such as cod."

Sunday Irish Tribune April 2007, Wine, “A Pinot Grey the Cheap Way” John Wilson Guerrieri Rizzardi Pinot Grigio 2006 “Some very enticing youthful aromas lead on to a delicious fresh mouthful of pears with a touch of honey. Crisp and dry, this is classic Veneto pinot grigio at its finest.”

Scotland on Sunday, 18th March 2007, “Like Mamma Always Makes” W Lyons. “I am a fan of these because I like wines with character, wines that surprise and make you yearn for another glass. Take the Chardonnay Vignaunica Valdadige as an example. Chardonnay is a grape surrounded by scepticism, ever since the Australians flooded the market. Yet Rizzardi’s Chardonnay aspires to a rather higher ideal. Its crisp acidity, mineral character and wonderful perfumed nose both surprise and delight. It is a wine that appeals particularly for what it is not: over-extracted, over-oaked or immersed in a swamp of residual sugar. The (Rizzardi wines) tap into a subtle trend that is affecting today’s wine-drinker, who is beginning to move away from the big, heavy, fruit-laden wines of recent years to a lighter, and chic style of wine.”

Circle Of Wine Writers Update, UK, “A Visit to the Veneto” by D. Furer, Feb/Mar 2007 “Gisueppe Rizzardi assumed the management of the estate eight years ago after working in Bordeaux with Michel Rolland and at Concha Y Toro’s Puente Alto estate. His background shows in the fruit dominated elegance of the house style, especially in the Amarone…this was an eye-opening visit to this great wine estate.”

Harpers Magazine, UK 26th Jan 2007 – “Bardolino - Going Back To Their Roots” “I particularly liked the Rizzardi selection, consisting of their intensely fruity Bardolino Classico 2005 and well balanced 2005 Tacchetto…. and the fabulous, light but intensely concentrated 2004 Guerrieri Rizzardi Munus. The 2001 Guerrieri Rizzardi Castello Rosso is an excellent example, its balance, freshness and weighty depth of flavour were awesome and it didn’t loose any of the quintessential minerality I so enjoy about the wines from this area. The Marco Bona makes an elegant steely IGT wine called Castello Guerrieri Bianco.”

Gambero Rosso, Vini d’Italia 2007 – 20 Anni , Nov 2006 “Amarone della Valpolicella Cl. Villa Rizzardi 2001 Guerrieri Rizzardi (3 Glasses), is a red wine with great character, personality, rich fruits and spices. Its major impression is one of balance and strength. We liked it so much that we gave it 3 glasses. For Guerrieri Rizzardi this is the first time a wine has achieve three glasses”
“2 glasses: Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Calcarole 2000, Valpolicella Classico Superiore Pojega 2004 and Bardolino Classico Superiore Munus 2004
1 Glass: Bardolino Classico Tacchetto 2005, Soave Classico Superiore Costeggiola 2005, Castello Guerrieri Rosso 2003, Bardolino Chiaretto 2005, Castello Guerrieri Rizzardi Bianco 2005, Dogoli Bianco 2005and Valdadige Chardonnay Vignaunica 2005.”

The Journal, UK, October 2006 – “Wine’s Our Family Business” by G. Adams “I believe it is their techniques and philosophies, which have been scrupulously applied in their vineyards and winery over the years, that have created the blueprint for the recent renaissance in this region. Guerrieri Rizzardi Bardolino Classico 2005, The back cherry and red fruit palate is charming, but supremely elegant and well balanced.”

Decanter Magazine, October 2006 Guerrieri Rizzardi Munus Bardolino Classico Superiore DOCG, Veneto 2003 4 stars.“Powerful for Bardolino. Ripe rich, dark cherry fruit. Hints of chocolate and good tannin grip. Great finish.”

Merum Magazine, Germany, October/November 2006, p17 Guerrieri Rizzardi Costeggiola Soave 2005 Doc – 3 stars “Golden yellow colour; lots of fruit on the aroma, full bodied, ripe juicy fruits, easy to drink with a long finish”.

Gambero Rosso – Vini d’Italia 2006, Slow Food Editore “Although Contessa Maria Cristina Rizzardi is the person most often associated with this winery, we have a feeling that her son Giuseppe Rizzardi is the real driving force, judging from his enthusiasm about the vineyards, the care he takes at every stage of growing and the fact that the vines form an integral part of the landscape.”
“2 glasses: Pojega 2003, Bardolino Tacchetto 2004, Soave Classico Superiore Costeggiola 2004, Amarone DOC 2000 and Calcarole Amarone 2000.
1 Glass: Castello Guerrieri Rosso 2001, Munus Bardolino Superiore 2003, Bardolino Chiaretto 2004, Castello Guerrieri Rizzardi Bianco 2004 and Dogoli Bianco 2004.”

Nicolas Belfrage – Barolo to Valpolicella 2nd Edition, p 184 “Guerrieri Rizzardi, Bardolino. With some 70 hectares of prime vineyard property in the classic areas of the Veronese, the Counts Guerrieri Rizzardi enjoy a potential second to none. Their Valpolicella range comes from vineyards surrounding the Villa Rizzardi at Poiega in Negar, and includes a Valpolicella Classico, the Classico Superiore Pojega and Amarone Calcarole, all made in the classic style. The main estate is at Bardolino, a superb establishment on the shore of Lake Garda, and indeed Bardolino crus Tacchetto and Fontis Vinae Munus are among the best expressed wines of their production.”

Prominent Italian Press Summary (translations)

Nomination for Oscar of Wine (2008): 

Guerrieri Rizzardi Rosa Rosae IGT recently obtained one of the three nominations for “Best Rosé Wine” within the category of the “International Prize for Wine” commonly called the “Oscar of Wine” which is awarded each year by the AIS (Italian Sommelier Association).  Eleven categories were awarded, 8 of which were wines and/ or producers, for a total of 24 wines. The three other categories awarded are the best wine journalist, the best restaurant/ wine list and the best Sommelier. Wines are voted by the Italian Sommeliers, wine lovers from all over the world, professionals and journalists.  Prizes are recognize people for their commitment and results in the world of wine.

Il Sole/24 ore, June 8 2008, “Pink shoes in the cellar” David Paolini “a true boom is the summer rosés, which have become again fashionable thanks also to some French stylists…Some excellent labels made in Italy (Guerrieri Rizzardi)…” Only 4 rose wines mentioned for the whole of Italy in this article.

La Cucina Italiana, May 2008 “The labels” Fabiano Guatteri“Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso “Pojega”” One year of ageing in oak barrels, it’s characteristics are an intense ruby red colour, aromas of forest fruits and spices. The flavour is full, balanced and long lasting.”  A maximum of 5 wines are mentioned per month.

Republica, April 11 2008 “How sweet (Soave) is the traditional white wedding of ancient times” Gianni and Paola Mura “A very strong bond with the terroir, well resolved innovations and precision make this estate achieve big goals.  In Soave on the hill of Costeggiola, like a crown of the small village, the vineyard produces wine found on its square label. A well balanced and dry white wine, full of perfumed aromas. Fresh, full and elegant. Soave Costeggiola 2006 Guerrieri Rizzardi”

Il Journal, March 30 2008, “Bottles not to be missed, The Amarone and a 2003 to be meditate” Francesco Falcone “Vintage 2003, not an easy one, brought out just a few special wines, among these Guerrieri Rizzardi Calcarole.”

La Cucina Italiana, October 2007 “The labels” Fabiano Guatteri“Rosa Rosae”” “Coral pink in colour, very intense perfumes of flowers and fruits like strawberry and raspberry. Full flavour and a quince flavour body in the finish.”  In the August 2007 issue there is a picture of our Rosa Rosae IGT, one of two wines selected for the issue.

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