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Philippe Bardet , Owner of Chateau du Val d'Or that was founded by his grandfather is a true environmentalist. He is Chairman of the technical commission of the Saint-Emilion Wine Council, responsible for the terroir and sustainable development and President of the Environmental Management System of Bordeaux wines. Regarding hi winegrowing philosophy he says "I undertake to reduce the impact of winegrowing on the environment. I am always ready to implement innovative practices and rely above all on a sincere collaboration with nature to enable my terroir to express itself distinctively."
The Val d'Or property is certified organic. It's 35 acres with good draining gravel and sandy soils. The vines average over 30 years planted primarily to Merlot with some Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Yields are kept low around 3 tons per acre.
Not just an environmentalist winegrower Mr. Bardet is also an inventor. He designed two revolutionary machines that help him harvest top quality grapes. The Tribaie "grape sorter", which sorts and cleans grapes, eliminating debris, leaves and unripe fruit. And the Calibaie "grape calibrator", which selects the best grapes, separating the smallest that have the most concentrated sugar content, from the largest. These innovations and making the wine in small tanks makes it possible to bring out the distinctive characteristics of the different plots of the vineyard, but more than a plot-by-plot selection, Bardet manages to select quality at the level of individual grapes.
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