article_snippet: When the US President visits the Queen, you’d expect only the finest wines to be served.
article_snippet: But Barack Obama had to endure a vin very ordinaire at Buckingham Palace, as guests at the occasion of a Buckingham Palace state banquet were given a wine civil servants had secretly judged to be ‘soapy’ and ‘harshly acidic’.
article_snippet: Officials in charge of the Government’s wine cellar, which is managed by the Foreign Office, provided bottles of 2004 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos, despite the batch having been found wanting according to the Government hospitality stock report.
article_snippet: Robert Alexander OBE, head of Government Hospitality, inspects a bottle inside the Government's Wine Cellar .
article_snippet: Bottles of 2004 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos were served to Barack Obama despite the batch having been found wanting .
article_snippet: The Foreign Office said: ‘All wines for use on state visits are carefully selected… the Palace the Palace regularly offers informal feedback on wines supplied for state visits.
article_snippet: Bottles of Chassagne Montrachet Cru Virondot 2002 lined up in the Government's wine cellar .
highlights_snippet: Civil servants had already found 2004 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos wanting .
  