Château Miraval Provence Rosé 2013, France
There's been a whole flood of celebrities buying wine estates and becoming - to a greater or lesser extent I suspect - vignerons. Gerard Depradieu is heavily involved in several French estates, actor Sam Neil plays an active role in running his Two Hands estate in New Zealand and golfer Ernie Els produces some of South Africa's most expensive wines. But the ultimate celebrity winemakers must be Bradd Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who bought the highly respected Provence estate of Chateau Miraval early last year. Their maiden vintage sold out almost instantly, so grab this 2013 now if you want some - it was released only on 7 February, so is brand new and is in stock at time of writing.
In fact, Chateau Miraval has its own 'celeb' history: in the 1970s the owner was French jazz pianist Jacques Loussier, who built a state of the art recording studio in the Chateau. A whole host of big names have recorded there including Sting and, in 1977, Pink Floyd, who recorded their epic The Wall album there. Today Brangelina are said to spend a fair proportion of the summer there, and do indeed get involved in winemaking decisions.
But celebrity ownership is not enough to get my recommendation as my Wine of the Week: it has to be good, and this typically pale and elegant Provence pink really is. There are notes of lemon balm, thyme and redcurrant on the nose, and a fresh and precise palate, with good raspberry and rose-hip, very delicate flavours, and a lovely food-friendly and dry acidity in the finish. Watch the video for more on the intriguing celebrity history of Château Miraval and for specific food matching suggestions. £19.95, Berry Bros & Rudd.
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