Holy Guacamole: This $38 Million Malibu Estate Has an Orchard With 600 Avocado Trees
A lush 180-acre wine estate tucked into the hills above Malibu has listed for $38 million. The property of George Rosenthal, an 89-year-old real-estate mogul whose holdings include the Sunset Marquis hotel, the hacienda-style home is a verdant oasis of lawns, fountains and vineyards amid the arid Santa Monica Mountains.
Rosenthal built the home, a 10-minute drive inland from Malibu, in the 1970s as a vacation resort. It retains the feeling of refuge. Passing through the entrance gate along the private drive, you are surrounded first by oak trees, then by rows of vines before reaching the Spanish-style main residential compound, flanked by palm trees and courtyards. Inside the pink walls are hand-carved wooden doors, ornate tiles and high ceilings topped by skylights.
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With eight bedrooms and 12,000 square feet of living space, the compound unfolds over several distinct areas. In the main residence, living rooms and bedrooms have large stone fireplaces and French doors open to patios with an outdoor kitchen and covered dining areas. A two-bedroom wing contains a gym, screening room and sunroom, as well as a kitchen with a butler’s pantry and a pizza oven. Surrounding the inner courtyard are a separate one-bedroom cottage and a two-bedroom guest house, which has its own swimming pool and views of the encircling hills.
From the main building, arched windows and beveled glass doors open to a pool that cascades into another lap pool by an outdoor dining area with a fireplace and a large patio for outdoor entertaining. Paths wind through the estate, past a pond, woods, gardens and a private gate onto the Backbone hiking trail.
The estate contains approximately 600 avocado trees, which could be farmed and sold as produce or made into enough guacamole to fill the property’s three swimming pools. A picture-perfect stable has been converted into a tasting room and banquet space, 2,545 square feet in size, and the property contains extensive wine storage facilities. The wine itself is made from grapes grown on the estate. Rosenthal also established Malibu’s first vineyard, in 1987, down the road in Newton Canyon. The man himself is ready to move on, having first put the house on the market in 2012. “We have enjoyed for decades the property as an oasis of tranquility to share with friends,” he said. “As I am steps away from my 90th birthday, it is time to provide another owner the opportunity to experience the property that has been so meaningful in our lives.”
Sandro Dazzan of the Agency and Jade Mills and Joyce Rey of Coldwell Banker Realty, Beverly Hills, share the listing.
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