A massive wildfire racing through southern France in late July threatened the sprawling vineyard once shared by actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, adding a natural disaster to the already combustible legal battle the former couple continues to wage over the estate.
Emergency crews worked around the clock to protect Chateau Miraval, a 1,200-acre property in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region purchased by the pair in 2008 for approximately $60 million. Firefighters deployed helicopters and ground equipment, drawing water from a private lake located on the estate itself to hold back the inferno. Images showed massive plumes of gray and brown smoke billowing over the vineyards, while on July 31,2026, after nightfall, orange and red flames illuminated the sky near the village of Correns, where the winery is located.
The blaze, dubbed the Correns Fire, represents just one of numerous fires scorching Europe, with additional conflagrations reported across Italy and Spain. Earlier that same week, actor George Clooney, his wife Amal Clooney, and their nine-year-old twins Alexander and Ella evacuated their residence elsewhere in the same French region.
Bitter Divorce Spawns Protracted Court Fight
Pitt, 62, and Jolie, 51, held their wedding ceremony at the property in 2014. Two years later, in 2016, the relationship collapsed, setting off one of Hollywood’s most acrimonious separations. They finalized their divorce in 2024, but the vineyard itself remains mired in litigation.
In 2021, a judge authorized Jolie to sell her portion to Tenute del Mondo, the wine division of the Stoli Group. The vineyard carried a valuation of $164 million at that point. The following year, in 2022, Pitt launched a lawsuit claiming Jolie had disposed of her stake without his knowledge, violating what he described as an oral understanding that neither party would sell independently. His complaint sought $35 million in damages, asserting the transaction damaged winery operations.
Jolie later countersued, accusing Pitt of pursuing a campaign of retaliation. Court documents revealed she had initially intended to sell her half directly to Pitt, but negotiations broke down when he insisted on a confidentiality clause barring her from publicly discussing abuse allegations. After she declined, she finalized a $64 million agreement with spirits executive Yuri Shefler, who runs the Stoli conglomerate. The ultimate sale price of her ownership stake has not been disclosed publicly.
Abuse Allegations Surface in Legal Filings
The lawsuit has repeatedly exposed painful details from the breakup. Jolie’s countersuit included the first detailed abuse allegations related to a 2016 incident on a private aircraft. She claimed Pitt “grabbed her by the head and shook her,” “choked one of the children” and “struck another in the face.” Five days afterward, she initiated divorce proceedings. Pitt has rejected the accusations, and a spokesperson stated Jolie was distorting and dramatizing a years-old event.
Court Rulings Favor Pitt’s Legal Strategy
In late June, a California judge granted Pitt authorization to depose multiple individuals affiliated with the Stoli Group, whose staff his legal team believes hold critical information about the sale. Pitt’s attorneys had attempted to depose Stoli executive Alexey Oliynik in 2025.
A more significant setback for Jolie arrived when a state appeals court permitted Pitt to pursue Shefler personally in the litigation. A trial court had previously determined Shefler functioned solely as a passive investor, but the appellate panel reversed that decision, concluding he exercised an essential function in arranging and completing the acquisition. The court observed he personally backed $39 million of the transaction and sent three letters to Jolie throughout the process — one expressing gratitude for her acceptance of his proposal and pledging to complete the deal notwithstanding personal difficulties, another requesting postponement of a payment installment due to issues involving Pitt. Justice Gail Feuer stated the correspondence was “far from inconsequential,” demonstrating his active participation in securing the transaction.
The winery crisis arrives during a challenging period for Pitt beyond the courtroom. His youngest daughter Vivienne recently petitioned to remove his surname, following other siblings who have created distance from him.
For the moment, emergency responders have successfully defended the estate where the couple married and which has become the centerpiece of their ongoing conflict. Neither party currently holds full ownership, yet the legal war over how Jolie’s half transferred continues unabated.