Château Miraval is a

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

and

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

located in the village of

Correns Correns (; oc, Correnç) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Its name in the Provençal language is ''Courrens''. The geographic position of the village is almost in the middle o ...

, just north of

Brignoles Brignoles (; oc, Brinhòla) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Alongside Draguignan, it is one of two subprefectures in Var. It was the summer residence of the counts of Proven ...

, a village in the Var ''département'' in the south of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The château hit headlines in late May 2008 when it was revealed that

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

and

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

had leased it for three years with an option to buy, after surveying prospective properties by helicopter, with the intention of having the twins they expected born in France. Pitt and Jolie exercised the buy option and were married in the château's chapel in August 2014. In 2017, a new product was released by Château Miraval, an organic extra virgin olive oil. L'Huile d'Olive Miraval is packaged in black stoneware bottles and contains blended extra virgin olive oil produced from olives grown on the Miraval estate and locally-sourced Verdale, Pichouline, Tanche, Lucques, Aglandau, Cayon and Arboussane organic olives.

History

Miraval estate is located on a site first inhabited in pre-

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times. The château, in a modest vernacular style, has thirty-five rooms. It is surrounded by gardens with a moat, fountains, ancient aqueducts, a pond and a chapel, and by its

, recently planted olive grove and by the surrounding

garrigue Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( el, φρύγανα , n. pl.), is a type of low scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils in southern Fra ...

and woodlands of evergreen and white oak, and Stone Pine,

Aleppo Pine ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Description ''Pinus halepensis'' is a small to medium-sized tree, tall, with a trunk diameter up to , exce ...

and

Maritime Pine ''Pinus pinaster'', the maritime pine or cluster pine, is a pine native to the south Atlantic Europe region and parts of the western Mediterranean. It is a hard, fast growing pine bearing small seeds with large wings. Description ''Pinus pinast ...

. A previous owner, the French jazz pianist

Jacques Loussier Jacques Loussier (26 October 1934 – 5 March 2019) was a French pianist and composer. He arranged jazz interpretations of many of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, such as the ''Goldberg Variations''. The Jacques Loussier Trio, founded in 19 ...

, installed a recording studio in 1977 at the château:

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

recorded there, as did

the Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...

,AP: Brangelina buzz
and

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

laid down tracks for ''

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...

'' album, released in 1979. Its more recent American owner, Tom Bove from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, who bought the domaine in 1993 and modernised its

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

, which had been producing simple ''

vin de pays ''Vin de pays'' (, "country wine") was a French wine classification that was above the ''vin de table'' classification, but below the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) classification and below the former ''vin délimité de qualité s ...

'', has added a spa, Jacuzzi, twin gyms and an indoor pool. In 2011,

and

bought the domaine, as well as the wine business in 50/50 partnership with winemaker Marc Perrin. In October 2021, Angelina Jolie sold her shares to the wine group Tenute del Mondo. Tenute del Mondo is a subsidiary of Stoli Group, known principally for Stolichnaya Vodka. Stoli group, established in 2013, is responsible for production, management and distribution of the Luxembourg based, global spirits group, SPI. The château is known for its wines, white wines under the

Coteaux Varois Provence (Provençal) wine comes from the French wine-producing region of Provence in southeast France. The Romans called the area ''provincia nostra'' ("our province"), giving the region its name. Just south of the Alps, it was the first Roman pr ...

appellation and red, white and rosé wine under the

Côtes de Provence Provence (Provençal) wine comes from the French wine-producing region of Provence in southeast France. The Romans called the area ''provincia nostra'' ("our province"), giving the region its name. Just south of the Alps, it was the first Roman pr ...

appellation: the ''

Guide Hachette des Vins The ''Guide Hachette des Vins'' is a French wine buying guide published by Hachette Livre (Hachette Pratique). Its first edition was released in 1985. It is France's best-selling wine guide and one of France's oldest. The Guide Hachette des Vins ...

'' called it one of France's top 500 wine producers. The

domaine An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which would historically generate income for its owner. British context In the UK, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, and woods that s ...

consists of 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of which 30 hectares on the valley floor are devoted to organic vines (french: biologique). Correns village is the first 100% BIO. A series of winding stone terraces following the profiles of the slopes are planted with thirteen varieties of olives. The immense wine cellar of Miraval was built in 1850 by

Joseph-Louis Lambot Joseph-Louis Lambot (born 22 May 1814 in Montfort sur Argens; died 2 August 1887 in Brignoles), is the inventor of ferro-cement, which led to the development of what is now known as reinforced concrete. He studied in Paris, where his uncle Baron L ...

, the inventor of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

, who owned the nearby domaine of La Celle. The Côtes de Provence Rosé Miraval has won plaudits from ''

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...

'' magazine. In January 2020, co-owner and winemaker Marc Perrin confirmed that Miraval is set to release a

Rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the skin contact method. ...

Champagne in collaboration with

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

grower-producer Rodolphe Péters.

Notes

References

External links

Official Miraval Estate website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miraval, Chateau de, Brignoles Châteaux in Var (department) Wineries of France

History

See also

Notes

References

External links