Since 2014, under the leadership of its managing director, David Liorit,
Château Petit Val has made the fusion of tradition, innovation,
and elegance its DNA. Meet a man in constant search of challenges.
You are the managing director of Château Petit Val. What was your career path before arriving at the Château?
After studying viticulture, oenology, wine commerce, and agricultural management, I enrolled at the Derenoncourt school, where I learned to break away from traditional academic foundations to bring my own style to wine. I then became the general manager of a group of shareholders at Château Belle Assise Coureau in Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, where I met Olivia and Jean-Louis Alloin, who were also shareholders. Together, we decided to embark on an ambitious challenge: the creation of a vineyard, an entity, a STORY! It is an extraordinary and fulfilling adventure from every perspective.
How is the collaboration with Jean-Louis and Olivia Alloin?
We obviously work in concert. We make strategic decisions together, and they are fully involved in the development of the estate. However, the entire team at the Château is engaged and committed. A concert is beautiful when every participant is in harmony and at the top of their game!
How many hectares do you currently have? How would you describe the terroir where your vines grow?
Since 2014, we have tripled the area and now own 18 hectares, covering a mosaic of terroirs: sandy, clayey, clay-sandy, clay-limestone, and limestone. This diversity allows us to offer complex and varied wines that reflect the desires of our clientele. It opens up a very interesting range for the development of our wines.
Your goal has always been to elevate Château Petit Val to the rank of Grands Crus of excellence. What methods have you implemented to achieve this?
Indeed, this is our guiding principle. We treat our plots on a case-by-case basis. Each vintage is different, so it requires constant re-evaluation, a blank slate. We also place great importance on respecting the environment: no insecticides, no herbicides, using horses for young vines and on hillsides, planting hedgerows throughout the property, a truffle orchard with 140 trees, honey production...
Commercially, we offer unique and diverse products. You have to know your wine by heart to adapt it and know which one to offer to meet the expectations of your clientele (accessible wines, pleasure wines, or very high-end wines). If necessary, we may sometimes forgo the production of an AOP (Protected Designation of Origin) to produce a Vin de Pays or a Vin de France.
For you, winemaking and blending are more than just a step and take on real importance.
It is the least we can do to respect the harvested grape. It is up to us to magnify it, to accompany it to achieve the best possible result. For me, it is the emotion of the finished product. To achieve this, we focus on research and experimentation. What is research and experimentation? It is knowledge! Knowledge is freedom! Freedom is about having the keys, the data, allowing us to make the best decisions suited to our needs. During blending with the team, it’s a bit like creating a perfume. It is very tedious but extremely exciting and moving.
You are the first to have planted Riesling in Saint-Émilion, as well as Chenin Blanc and Grenache-Mourvèdre. Why these new grape varieties?
Our wines all have a story, a reason for being here. We do not want to change the heritage of Saint-Émilion; we respect it, but we offer, on a small area (60 ares), batches of non-local grape varieties with a particular story.
For the Riesling, the creation of this cuvée is a tribute to Olivia Alloin's Alsatian roots. We wanted to create a cuvée that reflects her personality and taste, with the style of wines she enjoys: highly aromatic, flavorful, and elegant. It was a big challenge. We had to adapt to the terroir. We conducted soil analyses and met with a prominent Alsatian nurseryman. Subsequently, we had to adopt the best cultural practices to create this exceptional batch.
We also planted chenin blanc, which we are very fond of, at the end of 2023, and Grenache-Mourvèdre on 30 ares to hopefully transport Jean-Louis Alloin back to his childhood!
Any upcoming projects?
Yes, we are passionate and driven by research, challenges, and discovery. Projects are on the drawing board, but today, we are taking one step at a time! For now, there are “babies” to take care of and discover.
Interview by Sandy Bénard-Ravoisier / Photos : Château Petit Val
Nestled in Fronsac and adjoining the adjacent valley, this property, whose origins date back to the late 15th century
