The Lurton family is, in wine terms, a little like the showjumping Whitaker family; they are everywhere. No matter how old — or young — you are, there seems to be a family member about your age making a wine not far from you.

The Lurtons are a dynasty and you only need to look at their website (www.lurton.com) to see just how numerous — and busy they are.

The family began making wine in Bordeaux in the late 19th century and, today, no fewer than 17 family members are working in wine, not only in France but around the world.

Fifth generation François Lurton today owns estates in Argentina, Chile, Spain, Portugal and France, following a period in the 1990s when he and his brother were acting as wine consultants on a global basis.

As François says: “We soon discovered the regions with the strongest potential in terms of quality and originality.”

Suffice to say that when François happened upon the 40-hectare Mas Janeil estate in Valley d’Agly (where AOC Côtes du Roussillon-Villages wines are made), he had found himself another new and exciting vineyard.

He had to be patient though; his find came in 1996 but the opportunity to buy did not come until 2009.

François has said that he was particularly excited by the old bush vine Grenache Gris and Macabeu (both white grape varieties) at the estate and was particularly motivated to make a white wine, with ageing potential, with grapes from these vines.

The result is the 2009 Traou de l’Ouille, which is a blend of 60 per cent Macabeu and 40 per cent Grenache Gris.

The wine is fermented in 600-litre oak barrels and then aged in French oak for a further ten months.

As you might expect, the wine has a very nutty, buttery texture with some lovely Galia melon and paw paw fruits. There is good, bright acidity too and, despite coming in at a high 14.4 per cent abv, it has a pleasingly refreshing quality.

It is a wine that I would prefer to see chill a little longer than the average white.

The red Mas Janeil from the 2007 vintage was a rather lovely wine made from Grenache, Syrah and Carignan. A cool summer meant that 2007 was not the easiest of vintages to navigate but I am a personal fan of the fragrant, herbal- scented wine that has emerged.

You will not have to look far to find a Lurton wine but, frustratingly, these two wines do not yet have UK distribution. I sense that it will not to too long in coming though and I promise to let you know as soon as I hear.