It's curious why the new bottles of Miraval rosé say "Mis en bouteille par Miraval" instead of "Mis en bouteille par Pitt & Perrin."
After the 2021 sale to Yuri Shefler, they removed not just Jolie, but Pitt and Perrin as well. They were all replaced with "Miraval" (not Miraval Provence or Château Miraval.)
Marc Perrin had attributed Miraval rosé's success "to the Pitt-Jolie formula - the Perrin family - the Wine Spectator." Two of those used to be on the bottle.
It is one of many hints that include Familles Perrin taking majority control of SAS Miraval Provence. They had 50.01% as of 2022.
They reveal a pattern of putting distance between themselves and the wine business.
In practical terms, it points to their divestment of the wine business.
The question is if and to what extent the Perrins will remain involved. And more importantly, why was this complicated and costly ruse necessary.
“It was clear from the beginning that we spoke the same language,” says Mattieu Perrin, co-owner of the iconic Famille Perrin, the group behind Château de Beaucastel and Domaine du Clos des Tourelles, among others. The Perrin family was introduced to Pitt and his historic 2,471-acre estate [1,000 ha.] in Correns, France, that he purchased with his now ex-wife Angelina Jolie through a mutual friend, the furniture designer Frank Pollaro.
“He understood that winemaking is long-term, generational, that it is about respecting the land and creating a beautiful evocation of that land in the bottle,” Perrin says. “The estate is filled with lavender, truffle trees, olive trees. It is more farm than winery. There are only 50 hectaresand [124 acres] of vines. So we decided to make everything we could from that biodiverse terroir.”
Their vision was very precise, and Perrin notes that it reflects Pitt’s approach to everything he does.
“He is an artist, and we often say that producing Miraval is like making a movie,” Perrin says. “Everything is considered and has to be of the highest quality. Every detail, from the bottle shape and design, is taken very, very seriously.”
The Miraval debut in 2012 made an enormous splash, and since then, Miraval has helped propel the entire rosé category to success.
“The rosé market was minute when we began, but we were convinced that it should be its own category, alongside red, white and Champagne,” Perrin says. “And today, it is. It is art, but it is also luxury, and it is accessible in a way a lot of art and luxury is not.”
Château Miraval Rosé has now been joined by an entry-level Studio Rosé, which typically retails for around $15, compared to the O.G., priced around $24.
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Random Fuzzy
Nouvel's crosscomplaint noted that Famille Perrin now has majority control of Miraval Provence, hence Campari can claim "the counterparty had all the necessary powers to grant distribution rights.” It may be precisely for this deal that the transfer of shares to the Perrins was made within the last year or so.
149. By contrast, Miraval Provence’s and Familles Perrin’s 2022 public financial statements reveal that Familles Perrin now owns 50.01% of Miraval Provence:
150. In an instant, Familles Perrin became the majority owner of Miraval Provence, and Chateau Miraval was relegated to minority status.
Stoli's statement is specifically worded to make claims focused on the process while avoiding any comment on the actual decision or the agreement. Stoli does not say that it disagrees with the decision to sign a distribution arrangement with Campari nor does it have any issues with the deal itself.
Stoli states that it was
"sidelined from any strategic sessions, commercial negotiations, or distribution agreement talks as well as the decision-making process and negotiations at Miraval."
"At" not "about."
How much of the negotiations took place at Miraval?
“Crucially, there was no tender, and Stoli Group had no involvement whatsoever in the negotiation process. This blatant omission of a co-owner of thebrand from critical discussions casts a harsh spotlight on the fairness and transparency of any future agreements and raises questions about legitimacy of the process used for selecting a distribution partner for Miraval."
How often are tenders used by small wine producers to select a distribution partner?
The answer to both questions is probably somewhere between none and never.
Much like Brad's claims in his complaints, Stoli's statement uses dramatic adjectives to obscure the fact that it isn't claiming much of anything against the decision to sign a distribution agreement with Campari. At least Stoli doesn't make the claim that it was "surprised" by the announcement.
Stoli Group has spoken out against its fellow Château Miraval co-owners, which this week announced an exclusive ten-year distribution deal for the brand with Campari Group.
...
A Stoli Group spokesperson said: “In a startling development, the Stoli Group has been shockingly sidelined from any strategic sessions, commercial negotiations, or distribution agreement talks as well as the decision-making process and negotiationsat Miraval,
“Crucially, there was no tender, and Stoli Group had no involvement whatsoever in the negotiation process. This blatant omission of a co-owner of the brand from critical discussions casts a harsh spotlight on the fairness and transparency of any future agreements and raises questions about legitimacy of the process used for selecting a distribution partner for Miraval.”
Campari said “While we don’t intend to comment on Stoli Group’s accusations, we want to remind that Campari Group has a proven track record of successful acquisitions and deals including in the proper and compliant legal management thereof. As with any other distribution relationship, Campari Group entered into the Miraval distribution agreements after having ensured that the counterparty had all the necessary powers to grant distribution rights.”
Just Drinks has contacted Famille Perrin and Pitt.
Campari Group previously told Just Drinks it was planning to position the wine brand within the aperitif segment in France and the US, which it called “leading rosé markets”.
“Our focus will be to further unlock the aperitif moment for Miraval, a consumption moment in which Campari Group and its family of brands is a leader.
“This a long-term partnership and we are both committed to unlocking the potential of Miraval in the US and France,” a spokesperson said earlier today.
The Aperol brand owner said distribution would begin at the start of next year, “upon availability of the new vintage”.
Yuri Shefler, the Russian billionaire starring in latest ‘Brangelina’ drama
Vodka magnate’s stake in French vineyard has dragged him into the bitter dispute between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
Madeleine Speed SEPTEMBER 15 2023
Yuri Shefler has been locked in a battle with the Kremlin over the trademark rights to the Stolichnaya vodka brand for two decades. Now the exiled Russian billionaire is embroiled in another lengthy legal tussle — putting him at the heart of a Hollywood drama — this time over French rosé.
Shefler is fighting with Brad Pitt over control of Château Miraval, a Provence vineyard Pitt purchased with his former wife Angelina Jolie in 2008.
The billionaire, who made his fortune from his liquor empire, provoked Pitt’s ire after buying Jolie’s stake for $64mn in 2021, and thereby finding himself drawn into the pair’s acrimonious divorce. The dispute has been laid bare in a series of dramatic court filings putting Shefler’s name in headlines in recent months.
The couple discovered the picturesque 17th century Provencal château when they were “helicopter hopping” around the South of France, looking for a European property to buy.
The château and its accompanying 30 hectares of vineyard turned out to be a savvy investment. Miraval, which comes in a distinctive wide bottle, has ridden a rosé wave that saw global consumption rise 40 per cent between 2002 and 2018.
LVMH has snapped up not one but two “prestige” rosé Provencal wineries: Château d’Esclans, producer of Whispering Angel, and Château Minuty. Celebrities including Post Malone, Kylie Minogue and Jon Bon Jovi have all jumped on the band wagon.
With the help of the famous Rhône winemaker Marc Perrin, the star couple built up the brand, which generated more than €15mn in profits in 2022, according to court filings.
The actor has questioned whether Jolie had the right to sell her share in the first place, claiming in a lawsuit against Jolie last year he had a right of first refusal on the sale. Jolie countered that she had offered to sell her stake to the actor, but that talks fell through after Pitt introduced a provision stopping her from talking publicly about events leading to the split, forcing her to look elsewhere for a buyer.
Meanwhile, Shefler’s company, Stoli Group, alleges it has been frozen out of the running of Miraval by the Oscar-winner.
Jolie and Shefler, who left Russia in 2002 and lives in Switzerland, accused Pitt’s team of launching a “xenophobic, untrue smear campaign worthy of Putin himself”, according to court filings.
Pitt’s lawyers accused the group and Jolie of forcing Pitt into a partnership with “a stranger with poisonous associations and intentions” and argued that Shefler’s ownership “threatens harm to Miraval’s carefully honed reputation and brand” due to his alleged association with Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
Stoli Group denied the allegation. “Stoli and Mr Shefler have been fighting a well-publicised and well-documented battle against Putin for over 20 years,” it said, adding, “Mr Shefler’s business practices or professional associations are nothing other than reputable.”
People familiar with Shefler say he is unlikely to be cowed by the drama.
The vodka magnate has, according to Stoli Group, endured raids, smear campaigns designed to damage his reputation, and attempted poisonings and kidnappings at the hands of Russian authorities over a vodka trademark dispute.
Shefler took over a Russian company in 1997 and formed a related company that acquired the trademarks to 43 brands, including Stolichnaya, for $300,000. Russia’s Audit Chamber later said the brands were really worth $400mn, prompting Moscow to declare the sale illegal in 2001.
In 2002, Russia’s General Prosecutor’s Office charged Shefler with threatening a government official and placed him on a wanted list. The billionaire left the country to avoid arrest, moving to Switzerland and later to Luxembourg, where the Stoli Group is headquartered.
“He keeps a low profile because he doesn’t want to be seen by the Russian government too visibly,” said a person who has worked closely with Shefler. “He is cautious about his public image.”
In the drinks sector, however, he has a “reputation for churn”, added the former colleague. “He likes to keep people feeling uncomfortable, to feel like they have to prove themselves all the time.” Stoli Group has had multiple chief executives over the past decade, according to LinkedIn.
Shefler declined to be interviewed. Stoli Group said it was normal for businesses to have managers with varying tenures. “Every story, whether short or long, adds to the company’s accomplishments,” it said.
Shefler’s management style has made headlines before. In 2022 a UK employment tribunal ordered Stoli to pay £1.62mn for the unfair dismissal of UK executive Vlad Zabelin, who was fired after he objected to staff pay cuts during the coronavirus pandemic. The court heard that Shefler and SPI Spirits UK, the UK-based subsidiary of Stoli Group, cut the wages of most of its 2,000 employees by 30 per cent during the pandemic.
Stoli Group said Zabelin left of his own accord, and that the company had taken “unprecedented steps to minimise damage from a global pandemic”. It added that compensation was restored to pre-pandemic levels after three months, and that employees were retroactively paid for the “mitigation” measures.
Stoli Group, whose other brands include Kentucky Owl bourbon and Bayou rum, announced a rebrand of its flagship vodka last year, changing the name from Stolichnaya to Stoli vodka in an attempt to distance itself from Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The group, whose wine division Tenute del Mondo has estates in Italy, Spain and Argentina, had its eye on Miraval for some time, according to Pitt’s allegations. The actor claimed in court filings that Shefler approached him in 2016, following the news of his and Jolie’s divorce, with an offer of €60mn for the estate, alongside a sweetener of a discount on a €50mn private jet.
Jolie and Pitt each declined to comment.
For the case to reach a resolution, Shefler or Pitt could buy the other out, or the two sides find a way to work together to run the wine business. But the pair appear to be at an impasse. Representatives for both sides confirmed that discussions to find a resolution had so far failed
Stoli said that “Shefler has been very consistent in his efforts to have a productive and mutually beneficial partnership with Mr Pitt”. A person familiar with the situation said: “Brad is not going to back down to bullies.”
George L., JR, good friends of Angelina, visiting at the same time. With maybe Ron Howard.
A beautiful FAMILY.
A special occasion.
Our July issue includes a guest editorial by Angelina Jolie on bruise detection technologies for patients with varying skin tones, and other essential reading for nurses. https://t.co/WQv2FTO3DWpic.twitter.com/RLBWEPYQWZ
Reflecting personally, when my daughter Zahara, who is from Ethiopia, was hospitalized for a medical procedure, the nurse told me to call her “if she turns pink near her incisions.” I stood looking blankly at her, not sure she understood what was wrong with what she had said. When she left the room, I had a talk with my daughter, both of us knowing that we would have to look for signs of infection based on our own knowledge, not what the nurse had said, despite her undoubted good intentions.
Even as my family has access to high-quality medical care, simple diagnoses are missed because of race and continued prioritization of white skin in medicine. At a societal level, racial disparities in health care affect outcomes for millions of people. From technology to improving diversity and representation in medical research and training, it is past time to embrace new solutions.
Not Miraval gin. Of course, they sold the trademarks already. Like Perrin - Le Domaine, another product that has little to nothing to do with Chateau Miraval.
Brad Pitt will premiere a new spirit at the Cannes Film Festival.
Having already established himself in the premium wine and champagne industry, the actor will launch The Gardener Gin at the annual film festival, PEOPLE can reveal exclusively. Cannes is the perfect venue as Pitt's latest venture, billed as "the French Riviera Gin," is a premium, dry London-style gin inspired by the south of France.
The Gardener has been quietly teased on social media for two months as "handcrafted by Brad, Tom and Perrin." (The Perrin family are Pitt's original partners in his Miraval wines and Tom Nichol is a master distiller.) It will hit U.S. shops in a limited edition in September.
For its formal presentation in Cannes, which kicks off on May 16, Nichol and bartenders at the iconic Carlton Cannes Hotel have concocted a "Secret Garden" cocktail made with gin, lemon juice, orange juice, strawberry syrup and an egg white.
Traditionally, dry, London-style gin is considered the purest of gins as it is unsweetened by sugar with only natural flavors added to the final distillate. In addition to its pronounced notes of juniper, licorice and coriander, The Gardener contains a notable presence of pink grapefruit, lemon and orange. The abundant citrus imparts a "Riviera-style" freshness to its taste.
According to Matthieu Perrin, whose family has partnered for a decade with Pitt, The Gardener "is an expression of the land we cultivate and guard for the generations to come. It is a quest for perfection, dreamed up by friends who share a dedication to art and to craft."
To create the spirit, Pitt and Perrin lured Nichol out of retirement. At 68, Nichol is a legend in gin with over 40 years experience. In 2006 he became the Master Distiller for Tanqueray Nº Ten.
Nichol was tempted into the secret, two-year long collaboration with Pitt and Perrin by the opportunity to create the gin he "always dreamed of." The result is a small-stilled, totally organic gin, crisp and fragrant.
....
As Pitt told PEOPLE in 2020, "above all, Miraval is a wonderful, exceptional estate that I fell in love with, and that I continue to invest in to make it one of the finest estates in Provence. For the wine, I partnered with the Perrin family. They have been winemakers for five generations. Together, we're in it for the long term. It's not just a passing trend."
While the disposition of Miraval itself remains a matter of acrimonious court filings between Pitt and Jolie, one industry insider tells PEOPLE that "the matters between them will be worked out sooner or later. What will be left will be Miraval. The land and its wine as well as Brad's knowledge and business sense."
Brad: "If you see anything this year, please watch second season White Lotus, 'cause she (Jennifer Coolidge) is extraordinary. She is hilarious. It's my favorite. Did you see, have you caught up with this one?"
DC "Yeah." "Did you see the last episode?"
DC Laughs
"Oh my God."
DC "You don't want to spoil.."
"So much fun."
"No. But I got to spend a couple of months here last year that were sublime. I mean, it's certainly a reason to just want to be here. So I have this idea of spending half of my year over here. That sounds really exciting to me."
This past spring was special. We had a good five or six weeks out here. The stories you hear about Provence in the spring, why people come here. Well, it’s real. And I can’t quite describe it, other than the freshness in the air, the light…the… I don’t know, it’s just a real feeling of peace and harmony, and the nights are so soothing. In summer you get the symphony of frogs; they lull you to sleep. I have a lot of artist friends from different disciplines, and they were here this spring; we were having a laugh. One was working on his music [at Studio Miraval], one was painting, one was designing a clothing line, and so on and so forth. They’d go off to their respective corners to work on their respective things, and then we’d come back here to cross-pollinate over a meal, or a game of pétanque, in the spot we’re sitting in now. Making an artist community has always been the idea here, and it’s really nice to see that happen.
Both times he does not allude to the wine business which they decided to sell even before he decided to sell Plan B.
Angelina spent a few months in Europe last year. She was seen scouting locations for Without Blood in Rome in late March. Filming wrapped end of July. She was seen leaving London July 28. Bullet Train's last stop in Europe was in London July 20.
➡️ B. #Pitt le seul à pouvoir incarner une star de cinéma à l'ancienne ? 🗣️ "Il a une façon de capter l'attention, de trouver l'humanité dans des moments outrageux ou comiques." Damien Chazelle
Miraval.com has a redesigned home page for the opening of Miraval Studios. The new background of what looks like a close up of gnarled vines imparts a somber, gothic aesthetic compared to the previous bright, pink-hued page. It's a strange choice considering they wanted to highlight the abundance of light in the studio.
For the lighting, another key feature, Quintard had dozens of conversations with friends and artists about what their dream studio would look like, with suggestions leading to a “constant golden hour” effect — amplified in practice at Miraval by the natural light that pours in from all directions, especially at sunset
That is far from the image conjured in The Art of Miraval. There is no light. It is dark and tortured, like his exhibit.
Unlike during the European and American premieres of Bullet Train when he couldn't wipe the smile off his face, he could barely manage a smile for billboard on Sept. 14. But he was in good form for the Le Domaine press junket maybe a day earlier.
The FBI leak occurred Aug. 15. Nouvel's cross-complaint was filed Sept 6. The Tampere exhibit had its press preview Sept. 17. The Le Domaine press junket was around the same time as billboard, maybe a day or two earlier and before leaving for Tampere, Finland.
In what the imagery in the home page may have been chosen to reflect, An Inspiration had a small but very significant edit that removed Angelina's name but left everything else the same. The last edit to An Inspiration was when Miraval Studios was announced December last year when the French text was rewritten to be notably different from the English text. The different texts remain unchanged.
After Angelina's cross-complaint's claim:
Pitt filed this lawsuit seeking to reassert control over Jolie's financial life and compel her to rejoin her ex-husband as a frozen-out business partner
keeping her name in the site would not be seen as a romantic gesture acknowledging her as "an inspiration," but as sinister confirmation that he wants to keep her tied to Miraval against her wishes.
It should be noted that in her purported January, 2021 email, she supposedly stated
I see now how you have really wanted me out and will most likely be pleased to receive this email.
"Really out" can arguably be interpreted as keeping her "frozen-out." But it's likely another instance of a shifting false wrangling narrative.
That is not the only conflict arising from the wranglings' convoluted claims.
The opening of Miraval Studios as an "iconic residential studio" is at odds with the contention in both Brad's original and first amended complaints that
Jolie’s breach, if allowed to stand, will deprive Pitt of his right to enjoy his private home
The purported sale deprives Pitt of his right to enjoy the home he established for his family
Privacy and enjoying the home can't be that important to him if he is opening it to the public for "stays from one week to six months in length."
The cross complaint claims the family has not been able to enjoy that home for some time.
Despite the signals they've given that they are getting ready to open up, the wrangling may still have some ways to go.
There is notably no link to Le Domaine.
Monday, October 10, 2022
BP "It was always something we wanted to revamp but didn't want to do it until we could do something special.
It wasn't until I heard what Damien was doing. He had the gig before he even knew it. He had the gig before I even new he wanted it."
DQ "It's also a room where we can edit films, mix them, master them etc."
BP "The other half of the building are editing suites. My friend Fincher was already here this summer editing his film.
And I've got a lot of director friends so they can come through as well. This artist kind of hang out. "
A historic French recording space has been reborn — and its co-founders, @DamienQuintard and #BradPitt, want to make it a “sanctuary for artists to come in and do their thing” again. 🎧
Damien Quintard (left) and Brad Pitt photographed by Austin Hargrave on September 14, 2022 at Miraval Studios in the town of Correns, France. The co-founders are pictured in front of the control room’s centerpiece, known as “the Spaceship.”
Hidden amid the grounds of a sprawling Provence estate, a historic recording space is reborn — and its co-founders want to make it a "sanctuary for artists to come in and do their thing" again.
By Lyndsey Havens
"I think we need a bigger table,” says Brad Pitt with a proud grin. It’s a rare rainy day in Provence, France, and for the first time, the superstar is about to sit down to a family-style lunch at the newly rebuilt Miraval Studios. An elevated-rustic assortment of tarts, salads, fresh cheese and bread spread out before him. He just needs to find a chair.
Tucked away within Château Miraval’s 2,200 acres — grounds so vast and lush that getting lost driving through them would be easy, but not so bad — Miraval Studios is as private and exquisite a place as any music (or music history) buff could imagine. And yet, it has sat dormant for nearly two decades.
Today, Pitt relays how eager he has been to reopen the space since he started spending time at the property in 2008. (He and ex-wife Angelina Jolie later purchased it for a reported $60 million in 2012.) All it took was being introduced to renowned French producer-engineer Damien Quintard, whom Pitt calls a “wunderkind,” to finally make his dream of creating the ultimate artist escape a reality. Come this month, just over a year since the two first met, Miraval Studios will formally reopen.
Built atop Miraval’s winery — itself constructed in the 1850s by the estate’s original owner, Joseph-Louis Lambot, and today known for its rosé — the building contains three editing booths for video and sound, production offices, a room housing Quintard’s collection of 170-plus microphones, a recording studio and a live room known together as Studio One, a reverb room, a kitchen, an artist salon, two guest suites, a 115-foot saltwater pool and a rooftop that offers a 360-degree view of the estate. This summer, Pitt’s and Quintard’s artist friends began to pass through to visit or work. Director David Fincher edited a film here, while another longtime friend, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, came to unwind ahead of the band’s current worldwide tour. “That was a nice way to break it in for me,” says Pitt. “This artist hangout is what’s happening.”
Damien Quintard in the control room, where the 25 speakers create a surround sound effect.
Austin Hargrave
Interior view of the control room at Miraval Studio.
Damien Quintard (left) and Brad Pitt photographed on September 14, 2022 at Miraval Studios in the town of Correns, France.
Interior view of Studio One’s reverb room featuring a vintage restored Bösendorfer from the 1980s.
An interior view of the back wall of Studio One’s reverb room.
Brad Pitt in the reverb room, with a restored Bösendorfer from the 1980s.
Austin Hargrave
That kind of open and revolving door policy is exactly what he and Quintard wanted for the space, where one of the priorities of the rebuilding project, announced last December, was to re-create the communal aspect that made Studio Miraval such a haven in its heyday.
Founded in 1977 by French pianist-composer Jacques Loussier, the estate’s then-owner, alongside sound engineer Patrice Quef, Studio Miraval was initially created for Loussier to record his own work, much of which was for films. Soon, artists from Pink Floyd to Sade flocked to the refreshingly remote and picturesque property situated about an eight-hour drive south of Paris. “As a French engineer, it was kind of a holy grail,” whispers Quintard in awe. (Today, Loussier’s granddaughter, Noémie Loussier, is the studio’s communication manager, working closely with Miraval GM Roland Venturini.)
At just 31, Quintard has already worked with the likes of Brian Eno, Parcels, L’Impératrice and Arca, and has notably carved a lane for himself in classical music. He won an Emmy Award for sound mixing for the 2015 Baku European Games Opening Ceremony, founded companies like Paris production firm The Mono Company and audio tech innovator SoundX and helped usher in the Dolby Atmos format, later making Mono the first studio certified with it in France in 2020. Last year, he added co-founding Miraval Studios to that list.
For Pitt, 58, Miraval Studios is the latest in a string of ventures related to Château Miraval, of which he owns 50%. (The other half belonged to Jolie before she sold her stake this summer to the Stoli-owned Tenute del Mondo. Pitt and Jolie are currently in a legal battle over the sale.) In September, Pitt announced his “genderless” skin care line, Le Domaine — founded with the Perrin family, Miraval’s vintners — which uses the estate’s antioxidant-rich grapes.
Through the pandemic, Pitt took up sculpting. (During our visit, his friend and famed artist Thomas Houseago works on his own pieces at the studio, though he briefly takes a break to get in on the lunch cooked by the private chef.) Prior to our chat, Pitt strums a few pleasant chords on the guitar — another new hobby — though he self-deprecatingly says that when he plays, “animals flee.”
The studio’s rebuilt tower, housing a salon, two guest suites that Pitt designed and a rooftop with a 360-degree view
Back entrance to the studio.
Exterior view of the tower and side entrance to the kitchen at Miraval studio.
The new 115-foot saltwater pool just behind Miraval Studios.
Another view of the new Miraval swimming pool. Photo Credit: Miraval Studios.
Exterior view of the stairs and elevator that lead up to the tower’s guest suites and roof top lounge offering 360-degree views of the grounds.
Entrusting Quintard with Miraval Studios was, Pitt says, a matter of instinct. Following an introduction from a mutual friend, art curator Caroline Bourgeois, the two met in Paris in 2021 and hung out for five hours. Now close friends, they are competitive in pétanque (a French twist on bocce) and recently caught a Nick Cave show together. “I’ve always managed my moves on a gut basis, and I just knew this was our direction,” says Pitt. “He had the gig before he even knew it. He had the gig before I even knew if he wanted the gig.”
“I obviously didn’t expect it all,” says Quintard. Then, another surprise: Pitt gave him a deadline of one year to rebuild Miraval. (“Deadlines are courageous goals,” Pitt says; both admit they were surprised they hit theirs.) Despite navigating supply-chain shortages — and essentially disappearing from family and friends, unable to speak of the secret project that kept pulling him from Paris — Quintard’s biggest challenge was more abstract: To shape Miraval’s future, he had to understand its past.
“We’re not here to just build a new studio: We’re here to honor a legacy,” he says. “The hardest thing was to understand what we should do.” Pitt’s guidance was simple: “Let’s make a sanctuary for artists to come in and do their thing.”
The amphitheater as seen from the tower’s rooftop lounge.
Lunch prepared by Miraval’s private chef using ingredients farmed on-site.
Some already have, including a few who recorded at Miraval years ago, from Rammstein’s Till Lindemann to reclusive R&B icon Sade, whom Pitt calls “royalty” as he and Quintard confirm the rumors that she has returned to recording — and that, in fact, she was the first artist to record at the reopened Miraval.
“You could feel the love that she and the band had for this place,” says Quintard. “And when we talked to musicians who came here previously, they all have this special connection with Miraval that can’t really be explained … It’s a dream come true to see this place activate again.”
Entering Miraval Studios is a visual feast at every turn. There’s the long, winding drive from the secured entrance to the studio lot, on which visitors pass everything from a small stone amphitheater situated on a lake (perfect for intimate in-person or livestream performances) to a bashful donkey, just one of the estate’s many pets.
A slight uphill walk leads to a Rapunzelesque tower, at the top of which sits a gorgeous circular guest suite that Pitt designed — which, like the larger villa a five-minute drive away, is one of several housing options on the sprawling property to satisfy stays from one week to six months in length. Booking manager Arnaud Merckling — an old college friend and former bandmate of Quintard’s who inspired him to switch from studying mechanical to music engineering — explains that while artists can pop in, most who visit Miraval want the full experience. The cost, on par with other residential studio rates, reflects that, and includes not only studio time but also lodging and food.
Tosca, a Lagotto Romagnolo truffle-hunting puppy who lives on the grounds.
Inside, the studio’s entryway is bathed in natural light and neutral tones. (Both Pitt and Quintard unintentionally arrived in matching earth-toned outfits.) A staircase leads up to shelves of vinyl that spotlight albums previously recorded at Miraval. To the left is the kitchen, where an unbearably adorable truffle-hunting Lagotto Romagnolo puppy is napping. And, most important of all, front and center is the control room.
The control room, situated between the refurbished live room and the untouched reverb room, with windows from both looking in, perfectly captures the ethos of Miraval: Embrace the past and the future all at once. Quintard built the room around “the Spaceship,” a sleek and amorphous custom-made control board he designed with Pitt. The desk offers a top-notch digital setup, but just behind it sits the studio’s original Solid State Logic recording console — previously used by Roger Waters, Sting and George Michael — for artists who want to record in analog.
Despite so much preservation, Quintard stresses that Miraval Studios is not a museum — and he doesn’t want it to become one. “I associate it a lot with painting. If you could paint with the brush of da Vinci or write on the scores of Mozart, would you do it?” he asks. “Here, we actually give people the opportunity to try.”
Damien Quintard with his collection of over 170 vintage and modern microphones.
Château Miraval’s wine cellar, directly below Miraval Studios.
At Miraval, Quintard wanted to create a choose-your-own-adventure experience, and he had Billie Eilish and FINNEAS in mind when redesigning the space. “When you create a modern studio and see that [they] can output 14 Grammy-winning tracks in their own room, it was really at the heart of my reflection because people are going to be like, ‘If they can do that, why on earth would you build something like this?’ ” he says. “It really redefined my way of understanding how a control room might work.” As a result, the room offers a plug-and-play option for artists wanting to record with Logic or Ableton.
Beyond the boards, there’s a pristine white couch that mirrors the loose outline of the Spaceship. (Quintard says plenty of artists have already spilled wine on it; still, “I wanted to make that mistake of putting a big white couch in a control room … It’s beautiful to have some chaos.”) Over 25 speakers compatible with Dolby Atmos fill the studio, making it one of the world’s few “flagship” rooms with the technology. A sonic sampling of symphonic music, Arca’s “Riquiquí” and a bit of funk from Parcels demonstrates the full-body vibrations Atmos creates — perfect, Quintard points out, for editing, mixing and mastering film music as well. (A projection screen can descend from the ceiling at the touch of a button.)
For the lighting, another key feature, Quintard had dozens of conversations with friends and artists about what their dream studio would look like, with suggestions leading to a “constant golden hour” effect — amplified in practice at Miraval by the natural light that pours in from all directions, especially at sunset. He credits his team of friends — executive producer Chloé Guine, assistant executive producer Adèle Lagarrigue, assistant engineer Pierre Gouges and studio manager Sébastien Germain — with opening his eyes to the importance of “bathing in light.”
It’s a far cry from the first time Quintard and Pitt walked into Studio Miraval. “It was pretty dank,” says Pitt. “It still smelled like the ’70s — or maybe the ’80s, to be fair. It hadn’t been touched since then. It needed a cuddle.”
The tower’s top-floor guest suite that’s adjacent to the studio.
Quintard mostly recalls the acoustic fabrics that covered the walls, which he later pulled back to discover the building’s original stone still intact. He measured the porosity of each stone, digging into some so that the wall could properly absorb sound. As for the live room’s sky-high arches, Pitt explains how the estate’s founder had invented a precursor to reinforced concrete. As one of the first buildings to utilize the material, architects installed timber trusses, not knowing they were structurally inessential. As Pitt says: “These surroundings just have this history of creation and innovation.”
The live room is a spacious playpen for just that. The toys available include refurbished vintage keyboards, drum kits, guitars and even a decorative olive tree from Miraval’s grounds. Quintard explains the room’s precise one-second reverb, adding that while the large space’s high ceilings make it ideal for recording classical music, it’s also functional for rap, pop, rock and more.
“The whole project was just day after day of people telling me this specific thing is not possible: ‘You can’t dig into the stones,’ or ‘You can’t put this arch here.’ We had to push forward all the time,” he recalls.
“The most amazing thing is how he worked this room,” says Pitt. “How sound bounces around is … f-ck me, a science. I would come in, go off and do my day job, come back months later, and it was just astounding to see what had been completed.”
And yet, Quintard hesitates to pat himself on the back. “We have to produce things, and they have to come,” he says. “I think we’ll know if this is a success in two years, three years, 10 years. In 30 years, if people talk about, ‘Oh, they did The Wall 2’ here, then sure, we would’ve accomplished something. But now we’re just on the ground floor. We’re just waiting to start building up the legacy, the new legacy, of Miraval.”
Or, as Pitt puts it with a smirk: “We’re open for biznass.”
The studio’s kitchen.
The bath & shower in the the tower’s top floor guest suite, adjacent to the studio.
The entrance to the guest villa, a five-minute drive from the studio.
The living space in the guest villa.
Interior of one of the three bedrooms in the guest villa.
Brad Pitt & Damien Quintard Reopen Legendary Recording Studio Miraval Studios
Miraval Studios now offers unrivaled amenities, in and out of the studio.
by Michael Major Oct. 10, 2022
Miraval Studios at the famed Château Miraval in the South of France has officially reopened its doors after a major renovation plotted and overseen by Miraval Estate's owner Brad Pitt and EMMY-winning French producer Damien Quintard.
Completed in less than a year's time, the renovation has revived a world-class space for the creation of music recordings, film scoring and editing, and a host of multimedia creative endeavors. As revealed in Billboard's new cover story on the studio, four-time GRAMMY-winning legend Sade was the first artist to record new music at Miraval, which will appear on the long-awaited follow-up to her 2010 release "Soldier of Love".
In 1977, the estate's then-owner, French pianist and composer Jacques Loussier, built a state-of-the-art recording studio on the property, previously called Studio Miraval, which went on to host sessions for Pink Floyd's "The Wall," AC/DC, The Cure, Sting, Sade and The Cranberries, among others. The studio was active into the early 2000s but sat unused for nearly two decades, until now. Pitt and Quintard have reopened the completely redesigned and updated Miraval Studios for the future, honoring the past while pushing forward for innovation in the recording industry.
Miraval Studios now offers unrivaled amenities, in and out of the studio. In addition to original gear such as the SSL 4000 G+, on which so many classic albums were recorded, the studio is built around The Spaceship (a desk designed by Quintard and Pitt with hybrid analog/digital capacities), while boasting the largest fully integrated Dolby Atmos Music system, as well as technology to handle pre-mixing for film and television. "No other studio in the world has this level of technology. Everything was custom made," Adrien Franchi, head of artist relations at DolbyFrance, told Le Figaro.
With its 25-foot ceilings, Studio One has a 100 square meter control room and 320 square meter live room that conserves what Quintard describes as the "heritage of the sound" of a space that delivered so many great records in the past. While preserving the legacy of the studio, Quintard's new design pushes the acoustics further. His design focused on an "organic sound" where "all the natural elements of the domain, the wood, the stones, define a warm and cocooning recording experience." "It really is a space where you can produce anything from pop and rock, to hip-hop and classical records," Quintard says.
Additionally, the live room houses Loussier's restored, 1860s-era Broadwood & Sons piano as well as other pianos and synths like a Bosendorfer from the 1980s or classics like Moogs, Junos and Solinas. The control room has deep acoustically absorbent finishes in the ceiling, rear wall and side walls, providing full-frequency sound control within the audible frequency range to ensure that the sound engineers can trust the sound they are hearing from the loudspeakers, without coloration or distortion from the room acoustics.
Elsewhere, there are recording booths, a blend of vintage and modern microphones with other rare gear, work stations for sound and video editing, a mezzanine overlooking the entire studio, a salt water swimming pool and a tower connected to the studio to house visiting bands and musicians on the property, be it for a day or a month. With the catering from the Château focusing on organic produce grown on the domain and artist lodging connected to nature, the recording experience is an immersion in the simplicity & authenticity of French Provence.
Few partners were better suited to making this dream a reality than Quintard, a musical prodigy and rising star in the recording industry. Having first come to fame in the world of classical music, Quintard has developed a signature approach that garnered an Emmy Award for his work on the Baku 2015 European Olympic Opening Ceremony. He has also produced artists such as Arca, Brian Eno, Parcels and Gaspard Augé (Justice), Teodor Currentzis and L'Impératrice among others.
"There were always plans to revamp the studio," Pitt tells Billboard. "It has great historical provenance and so we didn't want to do it until we could do something special." Quintard notes, "as a French engineer, it was a holy grail. Miraval is one of those legendary, iconic studios. But it wasn't until I came to Miraval that I understood how deep the roots go."
The decision to work together was an easy one, but the duo soon had a more challenging one to make: whether to move ahead with Miraval in its current state or, essentially, start from scratch. Luckily, even after nearly 20 years of disuse, the equipment was still in good working order, but Quintard saw aesthetic possibilities beyond the extant design of the studio.
"It was important for us to preserve all the analog technology that was here, but to also fully incorporate the best digital technology of today," he says. "Making a desk that incorporates both analog and digital really allows the artist to use the best of both worlds in a fresh and new way."
"We wanted to create a space where you can be free and it was in that spirit that we approached it - 'let's make a sanctuary,'" says Pitt. Of the design Quintard notes, "for that connection with nature we made sure we could have a space where the light comes in from everywhere. We wanted to achieve an organic sound using the wood and the stones of the domain and to make something super inspiring." "I'm really excited to see what music comes out of here," reflected Pitt.
