Has Brad Pitt won his war of the rosés with Angelina Jolie by seizing back the French vineyard Chateau Miraval estate?

Brad Pitt has taken back control of the French vineyard he owned with ex-wife Angelina Jolie in the latest twist in the so-called ‘War of the Rosés’.

The Chateau Miraval estate, which produces an award-winning sparkling rosé, is at the center of a protracted court battle between the pair.

Pitt’s lawyers have accused Jolie of deliberately depriving him of full ownership and “forcing a stranger into (his) parental home” by selling her stake in the company to Russian businessman Yuri Shefler.

Now a court in Luxembourg has stripped Mr Shefler’s company of some of the shares Pitt originally gave to Ms Jolie, putting him back in the driver’s seat.

A source close to the actor said the ruling leaves Schefler, head of the Stolichnaya vodka empire, with “virtually no say” in the multibillion-dollar business in Provence.

The 1,300-acre Chateau Miraval estate in 2008 before the famous couple bought it as 60-40 partners, with Pitt as majority shareholder

The source added, “Brad has fought for his corner every step of the way. Shefler and Angelina clearly underestimated him.”

Pitt and Ms. Jolie bought the 1,300-acre Miraval estate in 2008 as 60-40 partners, with Pitt as the majority shareholder.

Five years later he ‘donated’ an extra 10 percent for one euro to Mrs Jolie’s company Nouvel, making them equal.

But after their bitter split in 2016, the estate was at the center of a $350 million divorce battle.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt produced their own organic wine from the vineyard

The land surrounding the castle in southern France is known to produce high quality wine

In 2021, Jolie sold Nouvel to a group controlled by Mr. Shefler. Pitt’s lawyers claimed she “knew and intended that Shefler and its subsidiaries would attempt to control the company.”

Now a court in Luxembourg – where Chateau Miraval’s holding company is based – has stripped Nouvel of the portion of the shares Pitt donated in 2013 and transferred control of them to a court-appointed receiver.

Pitt had argued that they were given with the understanding that she would not sell them.

Judge Carole Kerschen ruled that it was necessary to end the ‘blocking of decision-making’ and save the company. A merits hearing in about two years will likely decide that Pitt regains full control of the gifted shares.