Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's wine being copied by Chinese counterfeiters
The Perrin family, who joined forces with the Hollywood couple to produce their Miraval Rosé, found evidence of faked bottles being advertised in China
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Your support makes all the difference.Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie may be used to having their blockbuster hits pirated but now the film stars’ wine has also fallen victim to Chinese counterfeiters.
The Perrin family, who joined forces with the Hollywood couple to produce their Miraval Rosé, found evidence of faked bottles being advertised in China so “moved swiftly” to crack down on the fraud.
This year, the wine – an £18 organic blend of Grenanche, Carignan, Syrah and Rolle – comes with anti-counterfeit protection by way of an engraved hallmark set into the foot of the glass bottle, to distinguish it from the counterfeit bottles. All aspects of the wine industry – from the Bordeaux first growths to Jacob’s Creek wine found in most supermarkets – have been hit by fraudsters in recent years.
The Miraval bottle has a discreet black, white and gold circular label, with the signature salmon pink colour of Provençal rosé on show. The back label says: “Bottled by Jolie-Pitt et Perrin”.
The scale of the fraud is not known although winemaker Marc Perrin told decanter.com: “We are already seeing evidence of faked bottles being produced and distributed in China, so we have moved swiftly to counter it.”
The latest vintage of the Jolie-Pitts’s Provence rosé went on sale in just 17 Marks & Spencer stores this month and just a handful of bottles can be found online. The supermarket describes the wine as an “intriguing pale pink rose with strawberry, white pear and floral aromas with summer berry, wild herb and tangy tangerine flavours balanced by a refreshing acidity”.
Their first vintage, the 2012, sold out in hours and waiting lists have formed for subsequent years. The 2012 was the highest-ranked rosé on Wine Spectator’s annual Top 100 wines list. Decanter Magazine said it had “a sense of power alongside the elegance ... with a delicious mouth-watering finish”.
Pitt and Jolie bought the 1,200 acre Château Miraval in 2008 for $55 million and the estate played host to their secret wedding in August 2014. The couple already produce a white called Lady Jane and a rosé called Pink Floyd, so named as Pink Floyd recorded part of their iconic album The Wall at the château.
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