A valve system including an aortic valve (10) and a holder. The holder includes a holder body (40), which has a central portion, engageable with a holder handle (20), and downwardly extending leg portions (42A, B, C) that engage the valve in the areas between the commissure posts (16, 17, 18). The central portion of the holder further includes a spool located between the commissure posts, rotatable by an attached handle. Rotation of the spool draws in a tensile member (26) passing through the commissure posts, drawing the commissure posts inward toward the spool. The tensile member passes through guides formed in the holder, configured such that they define the maximum available inward deflection of the commissure posts at the point at which the portions of the tensile member between the commissure posts assume straight configurations.
