Valentin Létoquart is one of the southern Rhone’s most exciting young producers. Disillusioned by seeing his hard work in the vineyard lost in the bottle Val decided to break away from the Cooperative he was growing for and in 2013 Val de Combrès was born. Valentin now manages 7ha of certified biodynamic vines in Oppède and Ménerbes, in the heart of Luberon southeastern Rhone Valley.

Val has always been a farmer and got into winemaking from the farming side. For him if everything was in harmony in the vineyard surely it wouldn’t be too hard to translate that into the bottle. He worked for five years as part of a cooperative vineyard group but became upset when the grapes he was growing organically got blended into large Rhone blends, never allowing the plots to show their uniqueness and terroir. So in 2013 he decided to break away and lease his own plots. Now with the help of his neighbour’s horse he manages his vineyard under strict biodynamic management, preferring the use of herbal teas to copper and sulphur.

He reintroduced animals onto his vineyards and each year a herd comes down from the alps to graze the winter on the plots, providing natural mowing and great compost. All of his vineyards are vinified separately with natural yeast and without added sulphites, done to fully express their difference of terroir. Val is passionate about using local variety’s so Grenache, Syrah and Carignan for reds and rosé, Roussanne and Gros vert for whites. He prefers to ferment in concrete to keep purity and age all of his wines in old French oak. His wines are bright, clean and joyful. After spending the last 4 vintages as a nomadic winemaker Val found a small site less than 3kms from his vineyards where he has built a small cellar and tasting room. The 2018 was his first vintage in the new space and he is delighted with the results.

Val is deeply committed to ethical farming and truly believes in the uniqueness of the wines of Luberon. His wines are pure and profoundly reflect the earth they are from. We are so excited to each year see Valentin’s evolution and the development of this exciting label.