I think it’s important never to be under-wined. For that reason, given 7 of us, I thought 3 magnums plus two bottles should have been enough – but it seems we were a sober lot – one bottle of white was only half drunk – though it was anyway time for the reds – and there was plenty of wine left in the first red magnum too when we called time. The 81 Corton Rognets will have to wait for another venue!

Gilles & Romain Collet Cremant de Bourgogne Brut
Other bottles recently drunk at home have been based on the 2015 Chablis vintage, this, however, is based on the 2014 vintage. From memory there’s no less sweetness than those bottles. Everybody – including me – said ‘yum!’ Delicious, and inexpensive too.
Rebuy – Yes

The 1999 Sylvie Spielmann, Engelgarten Riesling had a very young colour and lots of freshness. Quite complex and a little creamy in the finish – it would have benefited from a little extra concentration – light but not inconsequential. Tasty wine. The 2014 St.Urbans-Hof, Piesporter Goldtropfchen had much more concentration and depth of flavour – it was much the sweeter of these two wines too. Very delicious wine.

2002 des Varoilles, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er La Romanée
The first from a pack of 3 magnums.
Rather a smoky nose – there are vestiges of oak on the palate too – I assume that this was significantly marked by its elevage when younger. Now it retains those accents, but has freshness, width and an attractive complexity. Not earth-shattering wine by any means, but a more than adequate wine – the small glasses didn’t help matters, but when you are away from home, you can’t control everything! Good.
Rebuy – Maybe

Despite being a resident of Bern for a few years now, I was never in the Munster – you really get to feel the history as you look over the wooden pews with the crests of families that have used those seats for generation – and you can see where the old crest has been replaced with a new one as the ‘owners’ of those seats change over the generations – but not the seats themselves! A couple of pics from the Alpine Museum of Bern too – one, of the Jungfrau was captivating in the viewfinder of my phone – completely 3D!