#114 - Building the Saint-Emilion of tomorrow: Valérie Befve, CEO of Château Dassault
Is Saint-Émilion already what it needs to be, or is its future still being written? For Valérie Befve, the answer is clear: Bordeaux must keep building, adapting, and rethinking itself to remain at the forefront of fine wine. As CEO of Château Dassault, the Grand Cru Classé owned by the Dassault family since 1955, she is actively shaping what the next chapter of the region will look like.
Over the course of our conversation, Valérie traces her unusual path from running her own family winery to leading one of the largest estates in Saint-Émilion. We dig into the singular Saint-Émilion classification that makes every estate re-sit an exam every ten years, the gulf between north and south-facing terroirs, and how the region is adapting to a tougher market.
From hospitality and wine tourism to grape-variety choices made for a warming climate, this is a clear-eyed case for why Bordeaux is anything but finished, and why its best value-for-money wines might be the smartest bottles to put in your cellar right now.
▬▬ 🎁 GIFTS 🎁 ▬▬
📚 Vigneronne, by Laure Gasparotto
🏆 Understand everything about Bordeaux classifications in a short video
🎁 Get your wine essentials on our shop: a curated selection of wine accessories, posters and much more
🗺️ Get the best Wine Map of the Bordeaux region: as information as decorative
▬▬ ⭐️ ABOUT ⭐️ ▬▬
My name is Antoine, and I’ve been passionate about wine for several years. I knew nothing at first, so I went out to meet the biggest figures in the industry and turned those encounters into a podcast that’s now listened to by over 100,000 people. I now share with you what I’ve learned, and I hope we embark together on a beautiful wine journey to discover the finest experiences.
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