Perched high in the Dolomite Alps of Trentino, Matteo Furlani has been crafting some of the most beloved natural sparkling wines in Italy. Many of us know and love the cheerful line of bottle fermented pet-nats that arrive with the change of each season...from the Alpino Frizzante to the Barbie pink, skin-contact Macerato in the Spring and Summer to the aromatic Antico Nosiola and Rosso Frizzante in the Fall and Winter. These wines are the backbone of Furlani's production but they only give us a small glimpse of the full capacity of Matteo's winemaking prowess and the unparalleled terroir he cultivates.

But, to understand the full scope of Furlani's mastery of the bottle fermented arts you simply must try his two Interrotto cuvee's, the Brut Natur and Brut Natur Rose`.

Now, all of Furlani's wines are single vintage and come from various high elevation parcels that his family has owned for generations. The best way to differentiate the frizzante pet-nats from the Interrotto's (besides the price, ha!) is the grape varieties. The pet-nats offer a kaleidoscope of rare, indegenous grape varieties such as Verdealbara, Laragino bianco, Nosiola, Rossara, Negrara and Pavana. These wines are intended to show us the brilliance of these near forgotten grapes by being turned into delicious, rustic and "simple" wines of pleasure.

However, the two Interrotto wines are another story.

In the alpine village of Vigolo Vattaro, on a southwest facing slope at over 1100 meters of elevation is a tiny 1 hectare, single vineyard parcel of chardonnay and pinot noir tucked behind Matteo's house/winery. The vines are guyot trained and planted in soils rich in calcareous limestone with clay over top. Furlani planted this parcel over 20 years ago, dreaming of one day making a wine that was on par with the best grower Champagnes. He knew that Trento was an ideal area for making sparkling wine, it is after all Italy's first DOCG for Metodo Classico (Champagne method) wines...the climate, soil and tradition all exist there, but Furlani wanted to create something truly special.

In 2002 Furlani made the first vintage of Brut Natur and Brut Natur Rose`using a variation of the Champagne method he called "Metodo Interrotto '' or "interrupted". He started with a blend of 50/50 chardonnay and pinot noir. For the Brut Natur he direct pressed the grapes using his soft pneumatic press yielding a pristine base wine. The Brut Natur Rose` saw a mere 4 hours of skin contact with only the pinot noir, giving the wine a delicate, pale rose color. The wines naturally fermented in stainless steel, he then racked the wines and left them to age on the lees for 6 months performing batonnage throughout the aging process.

The following Spring, using must that was preserved from the harvest, Matteo created his pied de cuve and initiated the secondary fermentation, which he introduced to the vin claire while he bottled the wines by hand. The wines were then fermented in bottle with a resulting finished pressure of ~4.3 atmospheres (Champagne level). The wines were never disgorged - hence being called "Interrupted" - dosaged, sulfured or sugared. The Interrotto wines were then aged in the cellar for nearly 5 years before he began to sell them...needless to say they are very special once they come out of the cellar!

Now, I've been working with Matteo Furlani since the very early days of SelectioNaturel. The Interrotto wines were the first two wines I ever tasted from him and these wines are both the pinnacle of Furlani's winemaking as well as the foundation on which all his other wines are built. The aromas are vivid, the textures are pristine and multilayered. Not just "on par" with Champagne...these go to places Champagne can't even dream of. Maybe it's the terroir, maybe it's Furlani...likely a bit of both.

Back in 2002 he made a scant 600 bottles of these wines and while today he makes slightly more (~1000-2000 bottles of each) they are still very limited. Furlani chooses to age these wines for quite some time before releasing them, when he feels they are in their best moment; the current vintage is the 2017, which we just received. If you're a fan of Furlani fizz these are simply not to be missed.