Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's French winery threatened by raging wildfires amid legal battle over estate

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's French winery Chateau Miraval has been threatened by raging wildfires amid their ongoing legal war over the estate. 

The 62-year-old actor, whose youngest daughter Vivienne recently filed to drop his last name along with other siblings, initially purchased the winery back in 2012 with the Maleficent actress, 51. 

Earlier this week, it was revealed that George Clooney and wife Amal as well as nine-year-old twins, Alexander and Ella, were forced to evacuate their French home in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. 

Wildfires have been spreading across Europe in other countries including Italy and Spain. 

Chateau Miraval is located in the village of Correns in the southeastern area of France, where the Correns Fire is currently burning. 

In a photo obtained by TMZ, brown smoke could be seen filling the sky close to the winery and its sprawling vineyards. 

Firefighters have been using water from a private lake on the expansive property to help extinguish the flames, according to the outlet. 

Another image captured towers of gray smoke near a vineyard in Correns on Friday. 

After the sun had set, the glow of red and orange flames near Correns filled the night sky as firefighters continued to battle the inferno. 

Daily Mail has reached out to reps for Pitt and Jolie for comment, but has yet to hear back. 

The former couple are not the first Hollywood celebrities to be affected by the wildfires in Europe. 

Clooney revealed that his family were forced to flee their French residence due to the flames in a letter to the mayor of Brignoles, Didier Brémond, which his representative confirmed to People on Wednesday.

In the short but stirring letter, the actor reportedly vowed to support the French town, which is home to just under 18,000 people, regardless of the impact of the encroaching fires.

'Dear Didier, At this point we have no idea whether our beautiful home makes it through this terrible moment,' Clooney began.

'As we evacuate Brignoles we want to emphasise 2 things, first we hope you and the people of our city are safe and second that Amal and I are committed to making sure that whatever happens to our village, we are part of this community and we’ll be part of making it whole,' he wrote.

'We love Brignoles and our friends who live there.'

The Clooneys announced their evacuation on the same day that the EU's emergency response chief warned that wildfires could potentially engulf 'all of Europe' within days.

Greece, Italy and Central Europe are now expected to face the highest wildfire risk in the coming weeks, raising fears of fresh disasters even as firefighters continue battling major blazes across southern Europe.

Pitt and Jolie have been embroiled in an ongoing legal battle over their French winery, with a trial set to take place next year in February 2027. 

The F1 actor first sued Jolie in February 2022, alleging she had secretly sold her half of their beloved Provençal estate, where the former couple married in 2014, without his consent.

The star claimed that he and Jolie had an implied agreement that neither would sell their share to a third party without the other's approval, a deal Jolie's side has denied ever existed.

In legal documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Pitt requested Jolie turn in her tax records and other financial documents pertaining to the years 2017–2019, based on remarks she made that she says Pitt is taking out of context.

The Maleficent actress said in legal documents reviewed by TMZ that his efforts are part of a 'continued mischaracterization and selective quoting' of statements she's made about the long-running case.

Pitt told the court that he has expended time and labor into the winery in Correns, France, and he claimed Jolie breached their pact when she sold her share of the estate to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler.

Jolie told the court that she didn't need Pitt's approval over the transaction; and that he took past statements that she made about the sale to achieve 'financial independence' out of context.

The Daily Mail also previously reached out to representatives for Jolie and Pitt for further comment on the story.

Jolie clarified her comment to mean that she wanted to delineate her finances from Pitt's in an effort to separate herself from him, and not about her money situation in general.

Pitt's attorneys told the court that the remark essentially opened her up to scrutiny considering the nature of the litigation.

Jolie's legal team said the gist of her remark was that she had been looking for 'financial independence from her ex-husband.'

It was added that 'separating from one's ex-husband is categorically different from allegations that one is suffering from general financial distress.'

Her team emphasized that she had been looking to 'untangle her life and her finances from' Pitt.

And in June, it was reported that Jolie is 'looking forward' to the upcoming trial. 

It came after the Daily Mail revealed that Pitt scored a major legal win as he is set to go face-to-face with Shefler who bought Jolie's stake in the vineyard.

A California Superior Court has also granted the F1 star's motion to depose members of the Stoli Group, which is run by Shefler, per a June 17 court filing obtained by People.

One year earlier, Pitt sought to depose the company's executive Alexey Oliynik. But lawyers for Jolie argued Oliynik did not have to present documents or appear for a deposition due to being a Swiss resident.

But now according to the filing, depositions for Oliynik as well as other 'persons most qualified' need to occur by September 30 of this year in London.

One of Jolie's lawyers also told People that Pitt's latest legal wins 'have made no impact on the merits of the case, and certainly has no impact on Ms. Jolie's case.'

The actress is instead 'looking forward to defeating the case at trial next year so that their family can finally focus their energies on healing and moving on.'

A separate source claimed to People that Pitt 'refused to work' with the Stoli Group due to Jolie being the one who had chosen the company.

But an insider close to the Hollywood actor stated that his legal victories in the ongoing case are 'another step towards transparency over what took place.'

When the trial takes place next year in February 2027, members of the Stoli Group 'will have to explain exactly how the deal was orchestrated,' with Shefler possibly taking to the stand as well.

Jolie had sold her stake of the winery to the group's wine division called Tenute del Mondo.

The Daily Mail also revealed that the California Court of Appeal reversed a lower court decision that had allowed Shefler to walk away from the lawsuit by claiming he had little involvement in the $64 million deal that made him Pitt's unwilling business partner.

'Angelina knew Brad didn't want to sell her share of Miraval to Shefler, and she had agreed with Brad that he would have first right of refusal. So selling to Shefler behind Brad's back was spiteful,' an insider told the Daily Mail.

'This was payback after the custody dispute. And now Shefler will have to divulge what really happened behind the scenes and how the deal was orchestrated.'

The case, which notably involves a combined estate valuation of approximately $164 million, is scheduled for trial on February 1, 2027, with mediation ordered for October 28. 

Pitt and Jolie were previously married from 2014 until their split two years later. The divorce became legal in 2019.

And in late 2024, it was revealed that the former couple had reached a divorce settlement following a lengthy, eight-year battle.

The two stars share three biological children Shiloh, 20, as well as twins Knox and Vivienne, 18. The pair also share Maddox, 24, Pax, 22 and Zahara, 21.