Harvest lunch@Domaine Henry Natter

(8th October 2008)

Vines and the church@Montigny

The first time I met Henry and Cécile Natter was in the early 1990s. I forget the year – possibly 1994 – but it was a cold mid-January with visits in Sancerre with Tim Atkin MW and then I went on alone for a day and half in Pouilly. Henry, whose domaine is at Montigny at the far western end of the Sancerre appellation, was our first visit of the day. It was a cold, misty drive out from our hotel in Sancerre with hoar frost on the vines. The Natters had laid on a magnificent breakfast for us. Unfortunately we hadn’t been warned so we didn’t do the spread the justice it deserved we had already had a very undistinguished breakfast at our hotel. I remember being impressed with the purity and minerality of the wines, so it is strange that I hadn’t been back until this visit. Perhaps it is because the Natters are rather out on a limb in Montigny.

Vines and fields@Montigny

Invited on Monday to come back for lunch on Wednesday we imagined that it would be a simple meal with the harvest team but not a bit of it as, despite the harvest, we had a wonderful full five-course meal with the family – daughter: Matilde, sons: Auguste and Vincent.

The Natter family and their team of workers

Henry and Cécile Natter created the domaine in 1974. They now have 30 hectares including seven owned jointly by Auguste and Matilde. 90% of their production is exported with Europe as their main market. The Natter family are the only vignerons in the little village of Montigny that nestles at the foot of the ridge that carries the main road from Sancerre to Bourges. The Sancerre appellation touches that of Menetou-Salon here, with Menetou to the north of the main road and Sancerre to the south.

Vines on a steep slope@Montigny

Auguste, the eldest son, joined his parents full-time in 2004 having racked up considerable experience in various parts of the wine world: with Paul Culver in South Africa, Newton Vineyards in Napa and three years with Michel Rolland at Chateau Fontenil. Matilde looks after the marketing and communications, while Vincent, who is here for the harvest, is working at Château Vieux Robin in the Médoc.

We started with the crisp and lemony Domaine 2007 with characteristic mineral notes as an aperitif. Overall 2007 is a lovely vintage for fans of Loire wines but may be too austere for some uncommitted drinkers.

Then we drank the rich and concentrated 2006 Cuvée François de la Grange de Montigny Sancerre with the scallops. This cuvée comes from old vines of at least 50 years old. The wine is aged for 12 months in 50 hl wooden foudres and 1987 was the first vintage. Matilde had kindly fetched the scallops from a fishmonger in nearby Veaugues early that morning – and this is in the middle of the harvest! Veaugues is about seven kilometres east of Montigny.

If you have time and are travelling from Bourges to Sancerre, it well worth diverting off the main road just after Saint-Céols into Montigny and taking the much quieter and prettier road through to Veaugues and rejoining the main road just before Bué. This is a lovely drive through a mix of fields, vineyards and forests – particularly attractive with the autumn colours.

Sauvignon Blanc: Montigny

Every so often one of the family would get up from the round table and disappear either to fix the next course or to check on the harvest. “We started yesterday,” said Henry earlier, “and we have made a good start. The degrees are between 12 and 12.5, whereas last week they were at 11-11.5. The yields are fractionally less at 50-55 hl/ha instead of our normal 60. We try not to crop ate below 40 hl/ha as I think this puts the vines out of balance.”

Henry’s father was an English professor at the Sorbonne, who spent some time in Oxford during his son’s formative years. Henry was happy to reminisce about those times – Oxford, the River Cherwell and the Great Train Robbery, although none of us could at the time recall the exact date – August 1963. He recalled this father’s liberal approach to parenting and from the slight frisson around the table I sensed that Henry’s approach with his children had been rather more strict.

Henry also explained that his father was a friend of the father of Alphonse Mellot snr and he talked about the famous Maison de Sancerre in Paris that Mellot founded in the 1950s and which attracted many of the celebrities of the day.

Bell@the domaine

The Natters have four hectares of Pinot Noir. With the fish we drank the quite light but attractive Domaine Sancerre Rouge 2006. This wine straddles the divide between the very light traditional Sancerre reds and the much more structured and concentrated wines that an increasing number of producers are now making. It has a lovely spicy Pinot Noir character and rather more weight than you initially imagine. Their top red is a selection of the best juice and is called L’Enchantment – we were served the rich and soft 2005.

Henry Natter vines overlooking the village of Montigny

After lunch we went with Cécile and Henry on a brief tour of the vines up to the top of the ridge overlooking the village. “We are a little bit higher than Sancerre here,” explained Cécile. “Flowering usually occurs at the same time as Sancerre, while budbreak can be a little bit earlier. However, Sancerre is a bit warmer and the harvest here tends to be a week to ten days later – except in the exceptionally hot 2003 vintage when we harvested at the same time.”

If you are looking for a Sancerre producer to visit, who is off the main tourist drag, Domaine Henry Natter is cartainly one to try but you need to phone or email in advance. Open Monday to Friday.

Domaine Henry Natter, 4 Place de l'Eglise, 18250 Montigny
Tel: 02.48.69.58.85
Email: info@henrynatter.com
Web: www.henrynatter.com