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‘Brangelina’ split casts doubt over future of Château Miraval
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have announced they are to divorce, raising pressing questions over the future of the pair’s $60m French wine estate, Château Miraval.
The Hollywood power couple bought the estate, which spans the Côteaux Varois-en-Provence and Côtes de Provence appellations, in 2011 for a reported $60m, having leased the property from US businessman Tom Bove since 2008.
Its first 6,000 bottles of Côtes de Provence Rosé Miraval 2012, sold out within five hours.
A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Rolle, the wine is made in collaboration with Marc Perrin, owner of Château de Beaucastel in the Rhône, and went on to become the first rosé to appear in the Wine Spectator’s annual Top 100 list of the most exciting wines of the year. The estate now produces three wines; one rosé and two whites.
While their wines have been critically acclaimed, there’s no doubt that the pair’s high profile celebrity status has helped propel the wine, and the rosé category in general, to success.
In fact, recent research by Sainsbury’s found that celebrity owners of rosé brands, such as Brangelina, have helped to significantly boost the profile of “posh pink” wines among millennials.
According to the supermarket’s Rosé Uncorked Report, published earlier this year, younger consumers were increasingly opting for lighter-coloured rosé wines which it said had been boosted by the wine styles of “celebrity choice”, with Drew Barrymore’s Barrymore Wines also launching a pale Provence-style rosé.
The US meanwhile is now the fastest-growing and most profitable market for Provençal rosé, according to Julian Faulkner from Provence’s Le Grand Cros.
As for why, he told the drinks business that the category was benefitting from an upmarket image, as well as celebrity endorsement, noting the acquisition of Château Miraval by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
“I think Brangelina and Miraval has had an impact, and Provençal rosé is aspirational,” he said, also citing the luxury connection between the pink drink and smart French riviera towns such as Saint-Tropez.
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So, with the couple announcing their divorce this week, what will become of Château Miraval, the archetypal celebrity wine brand that has undoubtedly helped to boost the fortunes of rosé?
Rumours had circulated in August that the chateau had been put up for sale, however this was never confirmed. As far back as 2014, the couple were believed to be planning a Provence red made from Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cabernet Franc in the future, however this wine has, as yet, not been released.
The $60m estate, however, is just a small portion of the couple’s $400 million combined fortune, which includes a Loz Feliz mansion in Los Angeles, New Orleans home worth an estimated $6 million and a seaside villa in Turkey worth $2.7 million.
The couple have been together since 2005 after meeting on the set of Mr and Mrs Smith. Their six children took part in the wedding ceremony, which was held at Château Miraval.
Eldest sons Maddox (15) and Pax (12) walked Jolie down the aisle with daughters Zahara (11) and Vivienne (8) in the role of flower girls, while daughter Shiloh (10) and son Knox (8) served as ring bearers.
This is Pitt’s second and Jolie’s third divorce, with Brad having wed Friends star Jennifer Aniston in 2000 and Jolie having tied the knot with English actor Jonny Lee Miller in 1996 and American actor Billie Bob Thornton in 2000.
Chateau Miraval