Rosé Champagne, or tequila martini? That’s one choice actors like Michelle Yeoh and Colin Farrell might face after the 95th Academy Awards on March 12, when the lights go up and drinks begin flowing. And at least one of their colleagues will be pretty familiar with the copper-tinged bubbles in everyone’s flutes.
Fleur de Miraval will be the sole sparkling wine poured at both the Oscars and the post-ceremony Governors Ball. The nearly $400-a-bottle brut rosé Champagne is produced by Champagne house Fleur de Miraval, which is co-owned by Brad Pitt. It’s the producer’s second starring role at the Oscars, which unseats long-reigning Oscars pour Piper-Heidsieck in 2022. Piper-Heidsieck had previously been the official Champagne of the Academy Awards for seven years.
How did the change up happen? “An agency put us in touch, and of course, we were very happy to be part of anything artistic in general, and cinema in particular,” says winemaker Marc Perrin via phone from the Rhône.
Fleur de Miraval’s beginnings can be traced to 2012, Pitt and then-spouse Angelina Jolie collaborated with the Perrins, of Château de Beaucastel, to produce a Provence-style rosé. A few years later, the collaboration grew to include the Péters family, a generational Côte des Blancs producer, for a new house devoted solely to refined rosé-style Champagne.
The fruit for Fleur de Miraval is grown by the Péters in the village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in the Côte des Blancs, an epicenter of some of the world’s choicest grand cru blanc de blancs Champagnes. There, fourth-generation winemaker Rodolphe Péters uses the saignée method for the Fleur de Miraval, which rests on the lees for three years. The first vintage was released in 2020.
Perrin says the wine is primarily long-aged Chardonnay, with the remaining approximately 25% drawn from Pinot Noir. “We add new Chardonnay to a perpetual reserve every year and remove the same amount, so it’s an endless vintage basically,” he says. “It has all of the brioche of Chardonnay, and young Pinot brings the crunchiness. We really try to push the quality as far as possible.”
About 20,000 bottles are produced each year, said Perrin, and 1,000 of those—specifically the NV Exclusivement Rosé 2, known as EV2 and released in 2021—made their way across sea for the nominee lunches that lead up to the Oscars, as well as the ceremonies this week.
The bone-dry Fleur de Miraval has been described as creamy, satiny and bright, with notes of lemongrass, hazelnut, stone fruit, white tea and biscuits. Regardless of complexity, it will probably cut neatly through the rich beer-battered cod and malt-vinegar chips being plated by British chef Elliott Grover, who will cook alongside longtime Governor’s Ball caterer, chef Wolfgang Puck.
Also among the small plates are everything bagel macarons with smoked salmon and sorrel; Asian-style fried chicken with pandan leaf-coconut waffles and gochujang-spiked maple syrup; and a crispy rice bar with tartare, carved fish and fruit sushi.
Another beverage shakeup has quietly gone down this year among still wines, with longtime partner Coppola Winery being replaced by Domaine Clarence Dillon, a Bordeaux winery owned by Prince Robert de Luxembourg. The wines will include a special release of Clarendelle, which has appeared on tables during scenes of Emily in Paris. The winery also sent over Le Dragon de Quintus, a red produced in Saint-Émilion, and La Clarté de Haut-Brion, a $130-blend of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc made in Pessac-Leognan.
On the spirits front, Don Julio tequila will reign, with bartender Charles Joly’s team mixing up margaritas, Palomas and tequila martinis garnished with cotija-stuffed olives.
Shake-ups aside, it’s sure to be a well-oiled Oscars. this year.
Last Updated: June 1, 2023
