People have been telling me that 2017 was a very good year for most Swiss wines and last night I rushed around (not ideal, but …leave yourself more time than I did) tasting some of them at Arvinis in Montreux. They were consistently good, complex and fresh and very promising.

Keep in mind that most of the ones you’ll find have been very recently bottled – Jean-Daniel Suardet told me his Château Maison Blanche Grand Cru Yvorne Chablais was bottled just two weeks ago. It is for me a classic Chasselas, although more mineral than some, typical of Yvorne, with notes of flint and linden blossoms.

His Savagnin Blanc – the same wine you find under the name of Heida and Paien in Valais, and that gives interesting wines in the French Jura – is a powerful, golden wine with notes of honey and citrus and exotic fruits. A gem, and 2017 is very good.

In some cases, the 2017 wines are not yet bottled and you’ll be tasting the 2016.

Just-bottled wines need a bit of time to settle down, so if you like what you’re tasting now, keep in mind that by July it will be that bit better.