Southwestern French Cheeses
BESACE du BERGER
Raw Goat's Milk Animal Rennet from Périgord-Saint-Beauzeil, France Fromagerie Chèvrefeuille pair with... Light dry whites (Vouvray, Pinot Gris) Dome shaped and moulded in fine muslin, covered with ash, the flavours are clean, crisp and rich. The texture is smooth and spreadable. This is a fresh cheese, so it is best eaten young. |
le LINGOT du QUERCY
Pasteurised Goat's Milk Animal Rennet from Périgord, France Cabécou de Rocamadour (various) pair with... Cahors, Sancerres, Malbecs, Porters Light and velvety in texture with a sweet fudgey rind with a lovely, smooth, mouth-cooling texture and a wonderful, almost ice cream-like quality and gentle but complex flavour. |
OSSAU IRATY (VALÉE d'ASPE)
Raw Ewes' Milk Animal Rennet from Bearn & Iraty, France Various pair with... Burgundy, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, IPAs Summer milk from the Pyrénées provides the classic taste of roasted hazelnuts, grass, earth, cave and sweet buttercream. |
TOMME CRAYEUSE
Pasteurised Cows' Milk Animal Rennet from Savoie, France Schmidhauser pair with... Côtes du Rhône is the natural choice or other gentle reds, buttery Chardonnay and IPAs are great, too, This recent invention employs French Alpine milk with a sharp flavour and tang, citric, floral and creamy with untertones typical of the region, rainwater and earth. "Crayeuse" means "chalky", referring to the textural difference between this tomme and classic Savoie. |
TOMME de MANIGODINE
Raw Cows' Milk Animal Rennet from Manigod, France Joseph Paccard pair with... Bold, robust reds (Cabernet Sauvignon, Barbaresco, Malbec) One day, Americans will finally be able to import and/or produce real, young, raw Reblochon*, but in the mean time, Paccard's slightly larger format is a good way to meet the demand; the larger format allows the cheese to age 60 days without losing the mild, slightly nutty, milky flavour and unctuous texture that make the style so affable. *In the US, raw-milk cheeses aged less than 60 days are forbidden by the FDA. |
TOMME de SAVOIE
Raw Cows' Milk Animal Rennet from Haute Savoie, France Various pair with... Rhône Reds, Chewy Burgundies, French Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Belgian Sours Classic and earthy, lactic, mildly funky with giving and buttery texture and covered with a suede-like, grey rind that is frequently dotted with patches of yellow, red and white mould. A classic. |