Chateau Viaud has become the latest Bordeaux vineyard to be sold to a Chinese firm.

The 20-hectare Lalande-de-Pomerol estate in Bordeaux has been sold by winemaker Philippe Raoux to Cofco, a company that is completely owned by the Chinese government.

Mr Raoux, who owns the Chateau d'Arsac estate in Margaux, told Decanter that negotiations over the deal have taken the best part of three years to finalise.

"This is the first time that the Chinese government has invested directly in Bordeaux vines and shows their wider commitment to the region," he said.

Cofco is China's largest state-owned grain and food company, and plays a major role in the country's viticulture market with its Great Wall label.

This sale follows that of Bordeaux estate Chateau Chenu Lafite in Cotes de Bourg, which was bought by an unnamed Chinese billionaire in November as a gift for his son, a 20-year old economics student living in London.