Guerrieri Rizzardi Rosso “Clos Roareti”
WHY WE LOVE IT
- This centuries old walled single vineyard (Clos) contains pebbly soil rich in clay and silt, ideally suited to fine Merlot.
- The vineyard has excellent Southwest exposure and the rows are planted on a North/South axis.
- A precise viticulture program is prepared in order to keep the yield low and the grapes healthy.
Varietal Composition: 100% Merlot
Elaboration: Simple guyot training system is used on the vines. Selection of the grapes by hand before machine harvest. Alcoholic fermentation in steel vats of de-stemmed grapes, followed by malolactic fermentation in vats for 10 days at 25°C- 30°C. 12 months in oak barriques (225 litres), 25% of which are new, unused oak.
Tasting Notes: Harvested at optimal ripeness resulting in a harmonious, ideally balanced red. Concentrated and layered offering intense dark berried fruit supported by fine oak. Already drinkable now but will develop very favourably over the coming years.
PRESS
2018 – 93 James Suckling | 90 Wine Advocate
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Guerrieri-Rizzardi, the historic house in Veneto, dates back to the unification of two ancient estates in 1913, when Carlo Rizzardi from Valpolicella, married Guiseppina Guerrieri of Bardolino. From the 1950s Antonio Rizzardi managed and developed the estates, focusing on viticulture and in the 1970s he acquired the estate in Soave. 2011 saw the opening of the new winery on the hills of Bardolino. The result of a long-term plan to re-locate and modernize the entire production process. Rizzardi’s new winery is completely solar powered, combining the best that technology offers in a carbon neutral way with vineyards that have been in the family for centuries. With extensive holdings of “cru” acreage, the family is well known throughout Europe for their sensational, mineral rich example of Soave Classico, the tension driven Ripasso they produce from Pojega, and most importantly for making one of the most classical and age-worthy examples of single vineyard Amarone in the region.