President Macron and his wife, Brigitte, ended the first day of their UK visit with a luxurious state banquet hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle, and the official menu showed a clear Anglo-French slant.
Wines featured Bordeaux first growth Château Haut-Brion 1996 and grand cru white Burgundy in the shape of Etienne Sauzet, Corton-Charlemagne 2022, according to a rundown of the menu reported by ITV News.
For pre-dinner drinks and the official banquet toast, however, an English sparkling wine with a distinct French twist was poured for guests, who included music stars Sir Elton John and Sir Mick Jagger, as well as other Royal Family members.
King Charles toasted the French president’s state visit with a glass of Kent-based Domaine Evremond’s Classic Cuvée ‘Edition 1’.
First released this year, it marks the fruition of an English sparkling wine project announced by Champagne house Taittinger and its UK agency, Hatch Mansfield, almost a decade ago.
Domaine Evremond’s Classic Cuvée ‘Edition 1’ NV debuted this year. Photo credit: Thomas Alexander Photography.
King Charles III referred to the meteoric rise of the UK’s winemaking scene during the banquet.
‘This evening, we have drunk English sparkling wine made by a French Champagne house. This would have been scarcely believable to at least some of our predecessors,’ he said.
A non-vintage Champagne from prestigious producer Louis Roederer – Carte Blanche NV – also featured on the banquet menu.
Chef Raymond Blanc OBE, an ambassador for the King’s Foundation, helped to create the dinner for Tuesday night’s state banquet at Windsor Castle.
Pre-dinner canapés were followed by a first course featuring a ‘selection of tender summer vegetables from the gardens of Le Manoir with sage, raw tomato and extra virgin olive oil dressing’.
Next up was a ‘supreme of Rhug Estate chicken with Norfolk asparagus and tarragon cream’, followed by ‘iced blackcurrant parfait on a blackcurrant-soaked sponge with elderflower jelly’.
This is a translation of the formal menu; British state banquet menus have been written in French since the 19th century, as the ‘classical language of cookery’, according to the Royal Collection Trust.
After-dinner drinks included Taylor’s 1977 Vintage Port – a particularly well-regarded vintage that also represents Macron’s year of birth.
Alongside that, guests had the option of enjoying a 1948 Grande Champagne Cognac from Frapin & Co, also representing the year of Charles’ birth.
It isn’t the first time that president Macron and King Charles III have enjoyed an evening of fine wine together.
Château Mouton Rothschild 2004 was among the wines poured at a banquet held at Versailles palace in 2023, during Charles and Camilla’s tour of France – which also included a visit to Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Bordeaux.
