A Chinese bold vintage opens in Bordeaux

It's a sign of the times if ever there was one. So how do prices compare? Well, a whole duck in Quanjude in Beijing will set you back RMB 200, while its Bordeaux equivalent registers at €120 (approximately RMB 950).

Quanjude is owned by Beijing-based packaging millionaire James Yunjie Zhou, who also bought Chateau Renon in Tabanac on the Cadillac coast of Bordeaux four years ago – a milestone, as the 100th Bordeaux chateau acquired by the Chinese. (Zhou also owns the Sunshine Creek winery in Australia's Yarra Valley).

At the time of the acquisition, Zhou, who also runs fencing and polo clubs in China, said he planned to use Renon as a base for his family in Bordeaux, and as a venue for entertaining people from the Chinese wine industry and the media. As such, visitors can stay at the chateau in the Pomerol Suite, or in a selection of rooms including the Saint émilion, Cadillac, Saint Julien and Pessac Léognan. Renon was built in 1802 with 16th-century cellars, and includes stables.