Two recent articles on Fleur de Miraval in People and Miraval Studios in Vanity Fair France
Wrangling is apparently the designated euphemism for lawsuit, this time via Rodolphe Peters and/or another quoted "insider." Wrangling used as a noun as Moshfegh did can mean management, haggling, discussion, disagreement.
An awkwardly written, poorly edited article even for
People.
The
Vanity Fair France writer who went to interview Damien Quitard on Miraval Studios noted (with some annoyance) the secrecy surrounding the Studio and mentioned that a book author was denied access to the site. That even a photographer had to sign a confidentiality agreement on what he had seen.
The author wrote, "No one knows why Brad Pitt has chosen to reopen these studios now." It has actually been part of their plans for many years (see below). The more appropriate questions is: why have they chosen to reopen these studios
only now
Below, a screen cap from the Miraval Provence website that was up from 2017 until 2019 when the site was relaunched in its current form with the
Miraval video. The site added a new home page last December, 2021 with the announcement of Miraval Studios. The rest of the site stayed largely the same. Among the few changes was the French text of Une Inspiration: "on an
exceptional land" they are "
now bound" to the mastery of the Perrins. Marc Perrin is the director of publication of the website.
Current
It has
always been "Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie." For Fleur de Miraval which launched 2020 it was always the "Pitt family" with the subtle J on the stem of the large P. Both are public statements that the aftermath of the 2016 incident is a temporary condition that had no impact on their true relationship as a couple and as a family.
And in the 2019 "
How Miraval became the superstar rosé" article in Le Figaro:
On the sidelines of the wine business, Miraval is about to become a leading artistic place. Pitt's idea is to welcome artists in residence there A way to reconnect with a recent past. One of the previous owners, the pianist and composer of film music Jacques Loussier, had set up his recording studio there in 1977 , ie 300 m2 of consoles, magnetic tape recorders, all 100% analogue. The idea was to welcome the city's musicians, in a serene setting, with the best technical installations of the moment. Pink Floyd, who came to record The Wall - the album cover mentions with an approximate spelling "recorded at Miravel" - will thus succeed one another on the spot -, the angry Australians of AC / DC, Sade and the singer Sting. The latter even takes advantage of his stay to introduce trout into the pond of the property which he does not consider to be fishy enough. Les Français de Téléphone et d’Indochine also stayed on site. Today, the studio, in perfect condition, is eager to welcome contemporary musicians wishing to use this collection material.
In the same spirit, the old vat room, unsuited to the production of the desired high quality wine, will be transformed into a sculpture workshop . Its ten meters under ceiling should allow the production of monumental works. Finally, Brad Pitt wants to develop scriptwriting workshops.
A whole strategy which seems well thought out and which the large companies in the sector are observing with attention: "Miraval creates a whole universe around wine, changing the vision that the public can have of its products, comments the Bordelais Bernard Magrez, head of of 42 domains in the world. Pitt naturally chose the artistic universe, which is ultimately very linked to that of wine, because linked to excellence. He makes wine a cultural product. It is completely disruptive for this sector. I applaud with both hands and I take the liberty of reminding you that it was not the great candle merchants who invented the light bulb! "
(exerpts, translated)
Damien Quintard does not seem so surprised by this new line in his CV. Of course, when he received the phone call from a collaborator of “Brad” explaining to him that the actor wanted to meet during the week, the musician first thought it was a joke. But the rest, according to him, happened quite naturally. “We met at my premises, he was sitting where you are installed,” he remarks, pointing his chin at the gray sofa in the living room. "I can't give you all the details, but we found some common points", he insists a bit precious, before specifying that he would prefer that "the interview does not revolve only around Brad Pitt”.
...
His career then takes on the air of inventory à la Prévert, as he follows Theodor Currentzis in his most extravagant projects. In 2015, at the age of 23, he was hired to take care of the musical production of the opening ceremony of the European Games in Baku. “I had to direct hundreds of people for months, thinking about sound installations, artistic direction… It was quite complicated to mix symphonic passages, traditional Azeri music and Lady Gaga live,“ he recalls, admitting to having sometimes the impression of being” a child propelled into an adult world “during the preparation of the ceremony. Even more astonishing: this feat earned him the following year an
Emmy Award for “exceptional mixing live and on tape”. "That too, I found it hard to believe when I learned it," admits the musician, going to get the imposing golden statuette to put it on the coffee table in front of us. “Before, I exhibited it in the living room, but I think it's a bit show off”. When he speaks, Damien Quintard has his eyes riveted on his reward.
Thanks to his Emmy Award, the name of Damien Quintard spreads far beyond the classic. In 2019, he participated in the creation of Echo, a work imagined by the contemporary French artist Philippe Parreno for the MoMA, with Arca and Nicolas Becker, Oscar-winning sound engineer for his work on the film The Sound of Metal. For the latter, the musician also owes his success to his way of communicating. “In my day, nobody was promoting his work. Damien is aware that today, if you want visibility, you have to build a public image. He has a certain culture of entrepreneurship, which surely comes to him from his family,” says the 51-year-old sound engineer, contacted by telephone in Los Angeles. In fact, the 30-year-old has become a master in the art of communication: his
press officer insists on choosing certain photos to accompany the article, puts us in touch with the interlocutors to be interviewed among his entourage... And on Instagram, between two photos with his nephews, Damien Quintard regularly posts pictures with “Brad”, Nick Cave and Till Lindemann, the leader of Rammstein. When asked about his last photo with Kanye West , he prefers to evade skillfully: “We wanted to meet for a while. Things are brewing, but I can't talk too much about it right now,” he dodges, a confident smile on his lips.
The Miraval Mystery
For the past few months, Damien has been devoting all his energy to supervising the work at Miraval,
where he now lives part-time. On site, the Franco-American team wants to honor the heritage of these mythical studios, by adopting the formula that made them successful from the moment they opened: offering artists a luxurious peaceful environment, where they can let themselves be inspired far from the hordes of fans and the hustle and bustle of the big cities.
On site, the producer found old machines on which the settings planned for AC/DC and Muse were still recorded . After careful consideration, he decided to keep these period tools, to combine them with the most modern technologies. The vintage console, microphones and pre-amps used by Pink Floyd for the finishing touches to the album The Wall will therefore find their place in the studios. The very seventies aesthetic origins, with rather dark rooms, low ceilings and covered with orange carpet, has been completely redesigned to bring in light. The walls have been repainted white, the windows enlarged. Studio One will cover 350 square meters, with instruments from around the world, a space dedicated to the collection of vintage synthesizers and, according to Damien, "
the best recording room in Dolby Atmos format in the world".
Despite all these details, the Miraval team wants to maintain a
very secret aura around this project. No one knows why Brad Pitt has chosen to reopen these studios now: "we just found each other," Damien Quintard said. Manuel Jacquinet, author of the book Legendary Studios Malpaso editions, said, "Brad Pitt is in the process of pre-empting the capital of these studios since all those who brought these places to life are dead. It tells a new story, without the characters who brought it to life. " To illustrate his work, the writer wanted to visit the new studios, but access was denied him. “Communication is completely locked down. When I was able to buy a photo of the studios from a journalist, he told me that he could not give me any information about what he had seen, because he had signed a
confidentiality agreement,” a surprised Manuel Jacquinet.
From his Paris offices, Damien Quintard is just as evasive: he cannot give us the names of the first residents, nor the opening date or the number of people who will work there year-round. It's annoying and you almost wonder if all that, in the end, really exists. As a pledge of good faith, Damien Quintard then insisted on offering us a bottle of one of the rosés produced on Brad Pitt's vineyard. Its name: “Studio”.
Cut to a more concise and cogent form:
People
Despite the
wrangling ... one insider tells PEOPLE "quite a lot has been happening over the last few months, both at Château Miraval in Provence and at Fleur de Miraval in Champagne."
.... the act currently recording at Studio Miraval "is internationally known." ... the estate's recording and video facility, which reopened in December, has already begun work on a major film and several video projects.
.... (the wine)
business (is) conservatively valued at
six-to-seven times the price paid for the entire historic property just a decade ago. ... 20,000 bottles (of Fleur) for October release are already sold out, largely to a client base of discerning high-end restaurants and hotels.
... On a recent visit, after a long walk down, facing a blank wall in an unfurnished space, Pitt's Champagne-resident partner Rodolphe Peters turns and grins, "Here we are!" He points to an empty room decorated with nursery-like paintings. ... he laughs as he pushes away a concealing wall panel revealing a glass panel door.
The brand's logo — three overlying Ps, representing the Pitt, Perrin and Peters
families — is on a bronze handle. "Welcome to our speakeasy," he smiles.
- the lighting feature is an art piece, representing flowers and champagne bubbles... hammered zinc, natural wood and "noble" materials like bronze and slate. All fabricated by local artisans, Peters proudly notes, including a metalworks firm in Reims which helped renovate the Statue of Liberty.
- the "working winery" is dominated by two giant blond French oak casks holding 5,000 liters each and several taller stainless steel tanks. ... these contain "the perpetual reserve" and previous harvests of pinot noir and chardonnay which, subjected to a unique saigneé process, produce Fleur de Miraval.
... Fleur de Miraval remained unannounced for five years. Renovating the cellar took nearly as long.
"Brad wanted to keep the spirit of champagne. He wanted the space to feel intimate and be respectful to the wine," Peters says. "He gave us the basics: respect noble materials,
don't be fancy. He said we should keep to the pink and black colors of Fleur de Miraval and in keeping with his overall practice, avoid anything which might associate it with being seen as 'another celebrity wine.'"
- Transmitting his ideas to the Champagne architect who drew up blueprints, Pitt reviewed sketches and offered fixes. "He was happy because she got it," Peters grins.
- The partnership will release its third bottling, ER3, in early October — and the blend is more intense than previous years.
- The perception in the U.S. of Fleur de Miraval, Peters notes, has changed since its introduction — especially since its reception at the
Oscars dinners.
"I was in California three weeks ago," he explains, "and the impression of the wine community has changed completely. At first, they saw it as one more 'celebrity wine,' but with time and with tastings they've come to appreciate that it is a really challenging process, which creates a very elegant wine."
