I’m recently back from a month travelling around the US where I was sharing the wines of the Medoc with the trade – and a few friends.

I started in California; Medoc wines are no strangers there. I’m often asked if I am well received in other wine regions when I talk about Bordeaux. I find most wine makers to be inquisitive about what is happening elsewhere in the wine world. Rather than chauvinistic they’re keen to share and to learn from one another – so I am usually made to feel very welcome. The US, especially the west coast, is refreshingly free of Bordeaux Bashing – on the contrary ‘Bordeaux is Back’ seemed to be on everyone’s lips, so I was riding on the crest of a Bordeaux wave.

Last year I discovered Château Latour’s investment in Napa at Eisele. As Bordeaux investors in the region, they are not alone; as well as the longstanding investment at Opus by Mouton and Moueix at Dominus, Chanel, owners of Château Rauzan Segla in Margaux and Château Canon in Saint Emilion, purchased the Saint Supery vineyard and winery in 2015 and the Tesseron family, owner of Château Pontet Canet in Pauillac, invested in Napa last year buying Robin Williams Pym-Rae estate.

There is of course is more to Californian wines than Napa and I have a particular fondness for Healdsburg. This charming wine town has grown into a real foodie destination in the fifteen years since I first visited. I discovered it thanks to Susan Graf who opened her eponymous store there in 1998 (and has been dressing me ever since!) and to wine maker Jen Higgins now making Bordeaux blends at Lambert Bridge.

This year I found more ‘Medocains’ there; Gonzague and Claire Lurton. They are from two famous Bordeaux wine families, Lurton and Merlaut and between them are at the head of quite a collection of Bordeaux Left Bank family properties. Their portfolio includes Château Dufort-Vivens, Château Ferriere, both classified growths and Château La Gurgue all in Margaux, Château Haut Bages Liberale, classified growth of Pauillac and Château Domeyne in Saint Estephe, a property that they added to the collection in 2006. Several of these wines were in the tastings I conducted across the States, but it was a surprise to find them in a Healdsburg tasting room too.

The Lurtons brought their Medoc expertise to California in 2012, buying a vineyard in Chalk Hill and calling it Trinité. Three is their lucky number: it refers to their three grands crus classes in Bordeaux, their three children and the three varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc and Merlot in their Bordeaux blend and is represented by the three fish on the logo.

Despite its name, Chalk Hill is more volcanic ash than chalk, although these diverse soils of ash, chalk, clay, loam and silt lend themselves well to a blend of Bordeaux varieties. The cooler microclimate between the Russian River and Alexander Valley gives the signature ‘old world’ elegance to the wines they were looking for.

As the name Chalk Hill implies, the vines are planted on slopes and it was this natural beauty and the preserved wildlife of the region as well as the terroir that seduced the Lurtons. They plant a cover crop of native flowers between vines to protect their plots against soil erosion and encourage a favourable insect population. This is all part of their commitment to environmentally friendly viticulture. In Bordeaux, they started using biodynamics in 2007 at Château Haut Bages Liberal and in 2009 at Château Durfort Vivens. They use similar organic and various biodynamic practises in Sonoma, adapting to the local conditions such as handpicking the grapes in the cooler night and early morning temperatures. As in Bordeaux, they sort the grapes berry by berry and follow with a cold soak to extract colour, aromas and softer tannins, gently pumping the wine over the marc during the fermentation is another way they manage this elegant tannic structure. The wines are aged for twelve to eighteen months in French (of course) oak barrels.

Continuing with the Trinité theme the property produces three wines:

The top wine, Acaibo takes its name from ACA meaning water or fish in the native Pomo language and SIBO meaning three. It is a classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with some Cabernet Franc.

The second wine, Amaino, from the word for volcanic stone in Pomo, refers to that volcanic ash found in the soil from Mount St Helena to the North.

It is more Cabernet Sauvignon driven with Cabernet Franc and some Merlot. Both these wines age for an average of 18 months in 70% new French Oak barrels.

They also produce CG LURTON (no translation needed for that name) a 100% Merlot aged for twelve months in French oak only 10% of which is new.

Brave in a land where merlot is not that fashionable and perhaps a nod to some other Lurton holdings on the right bank of Bordeaux? All three wines are characterised by an elegant freshness and bright fruit.

Visitors are welcome to discover the Chalk Hill Estate by appointment but they have embraced the Californian approach to sharing the wines by opening a tasting room in town. The hospitality is in the capable hands of fellow Bordelais, Pascal Geurlou. Pascal knows all about sharing his passion for wine, he worked for many years at La Cave d’Ulysee in Margaux before moving to California.

Not only will he share the Chalk Hill wines with you but also wines from their Bordeaux vineyards. The terroirs may be 6000 miles apart but here, under one roof, right in the heartland of Californian wine country, you have the unique opportunity to sample the Lurton signature from both sides of the Atlantic.

Acaibo Tasting room: 422 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg, California 95448. Contact: 707-473-8556 or pascal@acaibo.com