Domaine Henry Natter

The appellation of Sancerre extends over approximately 2500 hectares, ranking it among the largest AOCs in France. A handful of plots are located just outside the 8km-wide geographical core surrounding the town of Sancerre. A further 15 km away, one comes to the vineyards of Montigny, one of the more unusual parts of the appellation. It is here that Henry Natter oversees his vineyards, whose soils are composed of terres blanches, one of three major soil-types that define the appellation’s terroir. He was the first one to begin planting vines here some thirty years ago. The 2013 edition of the Bettane et Desseauve French wine guide notes that “the Kimmeridgian clay subsoil and the solid maturity levels of the grapes allow the domaine to obtain white wines with exotic notes –and without any heaviness.”