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Campari gets dragged into Miraval legal battle

01 August 2024 By Louis Thomas

As the feud between former spouses Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie over the ownership of Château Miraval continues to escalate, Italian drinks giant Campari has now become involved.

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The war of the rosé between what was once Hollywood’s power couple has rumbled on since Pitt and Jolie’s split, announced in 2016. The pair married just two years previously at the Southern French estate.

Prior to their marriage, Pitt owned 60% of Château Miraval, and Jolie the remaining 40%, but when they tied the knot he reportedly gifted her a further 10%, meaning each had an equal share.

The multimillion dollar legal case in the wake of their separation has resulted in barbed comments from both parties, with Pitt’s lawyers claiming that Jolie “contributed nothing” to the success of the winery. The legal team at Nouvel, Jolie’s investment company, said that the Fight Club star was “an actor, not a winemaker” who “deals in illusions, not dirt and grapes” – they then called him a “petulant child, refusing to treat Nouvel as an equal partner in the business”.

In April of this year, Jolie’s legal team filed a motion requesting to release communication that would “prove” that Pitt would not allow her to sell her shares in Château Miraval to him unless she agreed to an “expansive” non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

Pitt’s case against Jolie pivots on her sale of her shares in Miraval to Stoli Group owner Yuri Shefler, reportedly without offering Pitt the chance to buy her portion of the shares first.

Compelling compliance

A press release from the US division of Stoli Group, issued yesterday (31 July) stated: “Nouvel LLC, the company that Ms. Angelina Jolie sold to Tenute del Mondo, has filed a motion with the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, Central District, seeking to compel compliance from Campari America LLC.”

Campari has cropped up as the company was, according to the release, “permitted to secure the right to be the sole distributor” of Miraval’s rosé in an agreement which was executed “around” September 2023.

The deal saw Campari handle Miraval’s wines in the US and France, the two biggest markets for Provence rosé. At the time, a statement from Miraval said that the Aperol owner’s position as “a leader in the key aperitif segment” would help the château to “meet its latest goals”.

the drinks business has reached out to Campari for its response.

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