Xi Jinping dinner: Haut-Brion 1989, English sparkling wine uncorked

A UK state banquet held for visiting Chinese president XI Jinping included Chateau Haut-Brion 1989, a 2009 vintage English sparkling wine and vintage Port, sources have told DecanterChina.com.

Image: Xi Jingping shares a toast with Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace © Dominic Lipinski / WPA Pool / Getty

Around 150 guests attended the Xi Jinping dinner held last at Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the Queen. Guests also included prime minister David Cameron and Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton.

The Chinese president and his entourage were treated to Ridgeview Grosvenor 2009 Brut English sparkling wine as part of the event.

Other wines chosen from the government’s £3m hospitality cellar included a Chateau Haut-Brion 1989, a regular fixture at fine wine auctions and a lauded Bordeaux vintage for several chateaux, according to a source with knowledge of the event.

Guests also drank Warre’s vintage Port from 1977, one of the most highly rated years in the Douro, plus a Mersault Premier Cru Santenots 2007 from Domaine Marquis d’Angerville in Burgundy and Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2008 from South Africa.

Officials in the UK government’s cellar rate occasions as either A, B or C in order to help decide the wines that are chosen for dinners and functions.

With the pomp and ceremony surrounding Xi Jinping’s visit, it was clear that the Chinese president has made the top tier. The UK government said his presence will ‘unlock’ £30bn in commercial deals.

A dinner menu from Buckingham Palace, published by the Guardian on its live blog last night, included a loin of venison from the Queen’s Balmoral estate in Scotland, served in a Madeira and truffle sauce. To start, guests ate filet of west coast turbot with lobster mousse.

There was a ‘delice’ of dark chocolate, mango and lime for dessert.

(Extra reporting by Harry Fawkes)

Translated by Sylvia Wu / 吴嘉溦