Wildfires Threaten Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's French Winery Amid Legal Dispute
Flames approach Chateau Miraval as the former couple remains locked in a legal battle over its ownership.
Wildfires are currently threatening Chateau Miraval, the French winery co-owned by actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, as the pair remain embroiled in a legal dispute over the estate. The Correns Fire is burning in the village of Correns in southeastern France, near the sprawling vineyards of the property.
Smoke has been observed in the sky close to the winery, and firefighters are reportedly using water from a private lake on the estate to help combat the blaze. Images from Friday showed towers of gray smoke near the vineyards, and a red and orange glow in the night sky as the inferno continued.
Chateau Miraval was initially purchased by Pitt and Jolie in 2012. The ongoing legal battle centers on Jolie's sale of her share of the estate in 2021 to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler, which Pitt alleges was done without his consent. Pitt sued Jolie in February 2022, claiming they had an agreement that neither would sell their stake to a third party without the other's approval.
Jolie's legal team has denied the existence of such an agreement, asserting that she did not require Pitt's approval for the transaction. She has stated her intention was to achieve financial independence from her ex-husband and to untangle her finances from his.
A trial in the legal dispute is scheduled for February 2027, with mediation ordered for October 28. Pitt has sought to depose members of Shefler's Stoli Group, which is involved in the wine division Tenute del Mondo that purchased Jolie's stake. A California Court of Appeal has reversed a lower court decision that had allowed Shefler to avoid the lawsuit, indicating he will need to explain the details of the $64 million deal.
Meanwhile, other celebrities have also been impacted by the wildfires in Europe. George Clooney and his wife Amal, along with their children, were recently forced to evacuate their French home in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region due to encroaching flames. Clooney expressed his commitment to supporting the town of Brignoles, where their home is located, regardless of the fire's impact.