The $164M Château Miraval Continues to Be A 'Bone of Contention' Between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

Château Miraval holds a lifetime of memories for the former couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. The luxurious private estate located in the south of France was the perfect backdrop for their "secret" engagement in 2012 and "getaway wedding" in 2014. The couple invested a whopping $28.4 million back in 2008 to buy the high-end property outside the tiny town of Correns. It is also home to their award-winning rosé wine label, Château Miraval. However, Jolie and Pitt parted ways in 2016 and the "Salt" actress illegally sold her shares of the family-owned-and-operated vineyard to billionaire Yuri Shefler in 2022. 

Jolie had called Château Miraval the "beginning of the end" in a 2021 email to Pitt after filing for their divorce. "Even now impossible to write this without crying, Above all, it is the place we brought the twins home to, and where we were married over a plaque in my mother's memory. A place where I thought I would grow old. But it is also the place that marks the beginning of the end of our family."

According to LA Times, Pitt sued Jolie in February 2022 accusing her of selling off her 50% shares to Tenute del Mondo, which is a Russia-affiliated spirits conglomerate of Stoli Group owned by billionaire Yuri Shefler. Court documents state that Pitt found out about the "secret deal" only through a press release statement by the Stoli Group that stated Stoli was "thrilled to have a position alongside Brad Pitt as curators" of Miraval rosé. 

According to Vanity Fair, the highly profitable rosé wine label makes a turnover of $50 million per year. On the other hand, the Château Miraval estate is estimated currently to be at $164 million. Pitt had initially opted to buy Jolie's half of Miraval, and in February 2021 they agreed that he would pay Jolie $54.5 million for her entire interest, including undistributed profits. The deal fell threw since the "Eternals" actress found an eager international buyer, Tenute del Mondo, the wine division of the SPI Group, which is known to produce and distribute Stoli vodka and 379 other brands to over 170 countries. On October 5, 2021, Jolie sold her holding company, Nouvel, to Tenute del Mondo for $67 million without consulting Pitt. 

An insider close to Jolie revealed, "In an effort to preserve her own mental health and well-being, she looked for and found what she believed would be a good business partner for Pitt," according to a source familiar with the matter. However, for Pitt, the deal was a backstab. A source close to him said, "It is not a coincidence that she sold her interest in Miraval to an adversarial party, and part of the family home to a stranger, right after a judge granted Brad a huge win: 50-50 custody." 

Since then Pitt has filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife and Nouvel, Shefler, SPI, and Tenute del Mondo. He has argued in the court documents that Jolie's sale of her half of Miraval was "unlawful" and has demanded damages "in an amount to be proven at trial."