Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie plan ‘Super Provence’ red wine with Perrin family

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and their winemaking partner, the Perrin family, are considering making a red Provence wine in the style of Italy's Super Tuscans, decanter.com has learned as the new 'Jolie-Pitt & Perrin' rosé vintage is released.

The Perrins, of Chateau Beaucastel and who work with Jolie and Pitt on blending and strategy at the couple’s Chateau Miraval, intend to plant vines on Miraval land next year and may step outside of Provence’s appellation system.

Marc Perrin said a ‘Super Provence’ Miraval red wine could be stylistically similar to Super Tuscans, which have also achieved notoriety outside of Italy’s wine appellation system.

‘We believe that Tuscany and Provence have many similarities in terms of climate, maritime influence and terroir,’ Perrin told decanter.com.

Straying beyond an appellation can create local tension between winemakers.

But, Perrin said, ‘Some of our most suitable terroir – on poor limestone soils, on slopes, in areas of forest – lie outside the traditional appellation zones of Côteaux Varois and Côtes de Provence, which were historically set depending on where vines were planted beforehand, not by geological studies.’

There are 500ha of land across the two Miraval valleys and geologists Claude and Lydia Bourguignon have pinpointed three ideal spots for planting.

‘We are planning to experiment with different grape varieties, from Syrah and Mourvedre to Cabernet Franc and others,’ said Perrin, whose family has worked with Miraval since 2012.

‘There are no conclusions yet, but we will be happy to use the Vins de France label if needs be.’

Only 20% of Miraval’s 50ha of vines produce red varieties, and nearly all of it goes into the chateau’s rose, albeit a small amount of estate red is pegged for release in June this year.

The inaugural Jolie-Pitt & Perrin rosé – a blend of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah and Rolle – sold strongly last year and the Hollywood A-lister couple will be hoping for more of the same when their 2013 vintage goes on general release tomorrow (7 February).

Those already signed up to a waiting list will be able to by a restricted amount of the 200,000 bottle production from today. The wine is expected to be priced similarly to last year, when it sold for £18.99-a-bottle.

Read Jane Anson’s view of the new wine, tasted recently at the estate

Written by Jane Anson