Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ‘set to try and resolve’ longrunning vineyard dispute
Former couple have been embroiled in a legal battle over the Château Miraval estate for years
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Your support makes all the difference.Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have come to an agreement following a legal dispute over the vineyard they co-owned when they were a couple.
The exes bought the 1,300-acre Château Miraval estate in Provence in 2008 for around €20m and went into business with the Perrin family of winemakers five years later to produce Miraval’s signature rosé.
The wine was an instant success, with profits rising by €1m in 2013 and reaching €15m (£12.8m) in 2022. Both Jolie, 48, and Pitt, 59, initially owned 50 per cent share of the property, as well as its wine-making enterprise.
However, the couple divorced in 2016. In 2021, Jolie sold her stake in the property to a Russian oligarch, prompting a lawsuit from Pitt in which he accused Jolie of “systematic obstruction” of his management in the winery, and of selling her part of a stake in the vineyard without offering him the chance to buy it first.
Now, it finally seems like a resolution has been reached, with the couple agreeing to mediation to settle the dispute out of court, according to documents filed last week, The Times reports.
The documents revealed that Jolie has said she would be willing to take part in a settlement conference to resolve the dispute.
A commercial court in Draguignan, France, has appointed a “provisional administrator” to protect the winemaking business until an agreement between both Pitt and Jolie has been reached.
The Perrin family will remain in charge of making the wine.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Jolie and Pitt for comment.
In 2022, Jolie filed a £217m lawsuit against Pitt alleging that he attempted to “seize control” of the 1,300-acre estate “in retaliation” for the divorce and custody proceedings.
Another lawsuit filed as recently as earlier this month by Jolie’s former investment firm Nouvel then accused Pitt of “looting” the vineyard.
The 98-page complaint accused Pitt of acting like a “petulant child” and engaging in a “blatant money grab” regarding the negotiations over the vineyard.
“During the years that he allegedly ‘built’ the business, he filmed and appeared in dozens of movies, not to mention making countless promotional appearances, jetting-setting [sic] around the world for movie premieres, and attending Hollywood parties,” lawyers said.
“He deals in illusions, not dirt and grapes,” they added.
The Independent has contacted representatives for both Pitt and Jolie for comment.