Hollywood luminaries Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have split the spotlight with Southern Rhône producer Famille Perrin to make wine at the A-list couple’s estate in Provence.
The Perrin family—owners of Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape—began producing the wines for Jolie-Pitt’s Château Miraval using fruit from the 2012 harvest. Along with viticulture and winemaking duties, the Perrins are also responsible for distribution.
The Perrin-made rosé, Miraval, is slated to hit the market in March 2013, with a white wine expected to be released in the summer and a red wine likely to be available sometime next year.
The 17th-century Château Miraval is no newcomer to the wine scene. When the Jolie-Pitts signed a three-year lease for the estate in 2008, the estate’s then winemaker continued to craft its AOC Côte de Provence wines. The couple has since purchased the $60-million property.
Prior to the Jolie-Pitt-Perrin venture, the chateau’s portfolio consisted of a red blend made from Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, a white wine based on the Rolle variety and a rosé made from Cinsault and Grenache, which was named Pink Floyd—a nod to the fact that the band recorded The Wall at in the property’s studio in the ’70s.
The approximately 1,200-acre estate is home to roughly 150 acres of organically farmed vines, which are planted on clay- and chalk-based soils about 1,100 feet above sea level. The property is situated at the foot of the Via Aurelia, a route built in the 3rd century B.C. as a means to expedite Roman expansion.