Graham Copping
David Anderson
NYWS 19 August 2013
Introduction
 The taste combinations are tried and tested but are, as
usual a question of personal taste! You may not like the
cheese or wine but together…
 The Cheeses you will be tasting tonight were delivered
from France last Thursday and “affinée” so they should
now be in perfect condition
 Some are unpasteurised so if you are old, infirm or
pregnant (or all 3) you have been warned. Little or no
real risk!
Départements
Epoisses
Crotin de
Chavignol
Comte
Roquefort
Brebis
Pyrenees
Brebis
Pyrenees
Families/Types
 Pressed Cheeses (all from cows milk)
 Soft Cheeses (100’s, regional, small scale except Brie
etc)
 Blue Cheeses (individual or hybrid)
 Cow, sheep and goat’s milk
 Salty Cheese with Sweet wines
 Creamy Cheese with Acidic wines
 Harder Cheese more Tannic wines
Protection
 EU Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) = Appellation d‘Origine Contrôlée (AOC
France)
 French cheese production is classified under FOUR categories, and PDO/AOC rules
dictate which category(ies) each protected cheese may be assigned to:
•
Fermier: A farmhouse cheese, which is produced on the farm where the milk is
produced.
•
Artisanal: A producer producing cheese in relatively small quantities using milk from
their own farm, but may also purchase milk from local farms.
•
Coopérative: A dairy with local milk producers in an area that have joined to produce
cheese. In larger coopératives quantities of cheese produced may be relatively large,
akin to some industriel producers (many may be classed as factory-made).
•
Industriel: A factory-made cheese from milk sourced locally or regionally, perhaps all
over France (depending on the AOC/PDO regulations for specific cheeses).
There is a 5th…
• Friend of a Friend who’s Uncle knows someone who goes to the same Tabac
……he also supplies wine (unmarked bottles but from a very good source!)
Complexity of AOC eg Roquefort
 The regulations laid down in a number of decrees by the Institut National de
l’Origine et da la Qualite) who regulate PDO (AOC) products. These include:
 All milk used must be delivered at least 20 days after lambing has taken place.
 The sheep must be on pasture, whenever possible, in an area including most
of Aveyron and parts of neighbouring départements. At least 3/4 of any grain
or fodder fed must come from the area.
 The milk must be whole, raw (not heated above 34 °C), and unfiltered except to
remove macroscopic particles.
 The addition of rennet must occur within 48 hours of milking.
 The Penicillium roqueforti used in the production must be produced in France
from the natural caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.
 The salting process must be performed using dry salt.
 The whole process of maturation, cutting, packaging and refrigeration of the
cheese must take place in the commune of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.
You don’t always see…
Convention
 Before or after dessert?
 same wine as main course
 Red wine only with cheese?
 continue on from main course
 Sweet flavours with cheese?
 cheeseboard grapes and apples (acidic sweetness)
 Biscuits with cheese?
 Bread = crockery, palate cleanser, knife rest, plate
cleaner…)
 Usually eaten with knife and fork
Cutting
Soft Cheeses Brie, Camembert etc
• Unpasteurised milk is best
• UK: Chilled at supermarket then placed in fridge!
• France: cheese chosen for consumption by maturity
ie to eat tonight or in 2 days etc
• Leave plenty of time to develop before serving, avoid
the fridge
• Ripens from the centre so cutting is important (see
top left)
Crottin de Chavignol AOC 1976
 About : probably the most famous cheese of the Loire
Valley and has been produced since the 16th century in the
village of Chavignol, near Sancerre. Chavignol has a natural
rind which ranges from pale ivory to almost black.
 Making: made exclusively from whole goat's milk;
moulded; then taken out of moulds after 12-24 hours,
salted, dried and ripened at least ten days.
 Tasting: can be eaten at various stages of the maturity
process. Crottin de Chavignol after 8 days weights 140gr
and has a stong nutty taste. After 4 months, the cheese
weights only 40gr and has turned into a richer cheese.
Crottin de Chavignol
 The small cylindrical goat cheese from the area around
Chavignol has been produced since the 16th century,
but it wasn't until 1829 that it was first written about.
The etymology is dubious: the word "Crot" described a
small oil lamp made from burned clay, which
resembles the mould used to prepare the cheese.
Another explanation is that old Crottin gets harder
and browner and tends to look like dung, the French
word for an animal dropping being crotte.
Menetou-Salon 2012 Domaine du Manay
13%, 100%Sauvignon Blanc, £10.99/£9.99,
Majestic
 Menetou-Salon in the Eastern Loire
neighbours Sancerre, and shares many traits
with its more illustrious neighbour. With
limestone-rich soils very similar to those in
Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, this wine gives a
lot of more premium Sauvignons a run for
their money.
 Showing an impressive concentration of
herbaceous and citrus aromas on the nose the
palate displays a real intensity of gooseberry
and grapefruit characters.
Compte AOC 1958 45% Fat
 About: Comté has been produced since the time of
Charlemagne. Comté is still traditionally made in more than 190
cheese dairies, known as the "fruitières" in the Jura plateau.
 Making: about 530 litres of milk - the daily production of 30
cows - to make one Comté, weighing approximately 35 kilos (80
pounds). Comté requires a long maturing period “affinage” (6 to
24 months). The cheese is regularly cleaned and rubbed with
salted water. The eyes “holes”of the Comté are the result of a
correct affinage and should be the size of a pea to a small cherry.
 Tasting: Comté has an ivory-colored paste scattered with holes
the size of a hazelnut. Comté has a complex, nutty and
caramelized flavor. Comté is one of the traditional fondue
cheeses.
 Manufacture controlled by AOC regulations since it became one of the first
cheeses to receive AOC recognition in 1958, with full regulations introduced in
1976. The AOC regulations for Comté prescribe:
 Only milk from Montbeliarde cattle or French Simmental (or cross breeds of
the two) are permitted, and each must have at least a hectare of grazing.
 Soil improvement is limited, and cows may only be fed fresh, natural feed, with
no silage.
 The milk must be transported to the site of production immediately after
milking.
 Renneting must be carried out within a stipulated time after milking, according
to the storage temperature of the cheese.
 Only one “heating” of the milk may occur, and that must be during renneting
(no more than 40˚C).
 Salt may only be applied directly to the surface of the cheese.
 A casein label containing the date of production must be attached to the side
of the cheese, and maturing must continue for at least four months.
 No grated cheese may be sold under the Comté name.
Pouilly-Vinzelles ‘En Paradis’ 2011/2012 Louis Latour
13%, Chardonay, £13.99/£12.99, Majestic
 Produced by the family-run company
Maison Louis Latour, who are producing
white and red wines from the finest of
Burgundy to wines from outside the region
of Burgundy.
 A clean, fresh wine displaying honey and
stone fruit aromas. Sweet honey and floral
characters are in abundance on the palate
and create a fine and elegant complexity.
Brebis Pyrenees
 About: Not and AOC cheese (unlike Ossau-Iraty) as it is
produced over a large area and varying recipes. Made in
the Basque country and the Béarn region
 Making: Mainly made from Manech ewes milk. The cheese
is produced on small farms or slightly larger cooperatives .
The cheese needs to mature for at least 90 days to develop
its nutty flavor.
 Tasting: The pâte is supple and creamy when young and
becomes more firm as the cheese ripens and may have
small holes in the pâte. Creamy and buttery in the mouth
with flavours of nuts, fruit and herbs.
Côte de Beaune-Villages 2009 Louis Jadot
13%, Pinot Noir, £14.99/£12.99, Majestic
 A blend of Pinot Noir wines made from vineyards
throughout the Côtes de Beaune, mainly from
Chorey les Beaune and Ladoix. Fermentation is in
traditional open vessels, followed by an average of
12 months in oak, before final blending for
bottling.
 An elegant and sophisticated wine, combining a
firm acidic structure with a good weight of forest
fruit flavours on the mid-palate, and a mellow
texture leading to a fine and linear finish.
Epoisses AOC 2004 50% Fat
 About: The first Epoisses was made by monks in the
Abbaye de Citeaux, in the heart of Burgundy. It is said that
it was Napoleon’s favourite.
 Making: Milk from cows which have grazed for three
months in the meadows of Burgundy. Epoisses is first
washed with salty water. The cheese is kept in a humid
cellar. After one month, Epoisses is washed again with a
mix of rainwater and Marc de Bourgogne's spirit, two to
three times a week.
 Tasting: Epoisses has a powerful rich flavor, salty and
creamy with a pungent smell. Epoisses is best combined
with a raisin bread.
Epoisses
 Whole milk is heated to around 30 °C (86 °F) coagulation lasting for at least 16 hours.
The fragile curds are drained in moulds, and the whey run off. Around 48 hours later the
cheese is removed, salted, and placed on racks to dry; once dry, it is moved to cellars to
mature.
 Each cheese is rinsed up to three times per week in a mixture of water and Marc, and
brushed by hand to spread the bacteria evenly over the surface. The yeast and fermenting
agents produce the distinctive orange-red exterior, as it develops over a period of around
six weeks.
 In 1991, the cheese was awarded AOC status, which states that the manufacture must
follow the following rules:
 The milk's coagulation must be performed by lactic acid and continue for 16 hours.
 The curd must be cut roughly as opposed to being broken.
 After drainage, only dry salt may be used.
 Under AOC regulation, only cheese made in listed communes in the Côte-d'Or, HauteMarne, and Yonne departments may bear the appellation
Saint-Véran 'Les Crais' 2012 Domaine des Crais
13%, Chardonay, £12.99/£10.99, Majestic
 Domaine des Crais is a 9.5ha estate owned by JeanLuc and Martine Tissier, with 50-year old vines
grown on characteristically stony, limestone and
clay soils. Located in the village of Leynes, it
straddles the border between Mâconnais and
Beaujolais.
 This tank-fermented Burgundy is clean, crisp and
shows good concentration of citrus and apple fruit.
9 weeks' lees ageing has added a lovely depth,
refinement, and mineral touches on the long
finish.
Roquefort AOC 1925
Roquefort Troupeau one of only still made by hand to traditional methods
 About: Claimed that Roquefort (or similar) mentioned in literature in 79 A.D. when
Pliny the Elder remarked on its rich flavour. Favorite cheese of Charlemagne. Roquefort is
made exclusively from the milk of the red Lacaune ewes (also Manech and BascoBearnaise) that graze on the huge plateau of the Causses in the Aveyron.
 In 1411 King Charles VI gave rights to the ageing of Roquefort to only one village:
Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. Nowadays, Roquefort cheeses still mature naturally in the same
caves of this village for a minimum of 4 months. As of 2003, there are seven Roquefort
producers. The largest is "Roquefort Société". "Roquefort Papillon" is also a well-known
brand. The five other producers are "Carles", "Fromageries Occitannes", "Gabriel
Coullet", "Vernières" and "Le Vieux Berger".
 Making: Roquefort quality comes from the ewe's milk, the processing of the curd, the
“penicillium roqueforti” and then the maturation in natural caves. The mold Penicillium
roqueforti was found in the same caves where the cheeses aged. Today, the mold is mostly
produced in laboratories to ensure its consistency.
 Tasting: The taste is complex, creamy and soft. Roquefort goes very well with nuts honey
and figs.
Roquefort
Legend has it that the cheese was discovered when a youth, eating his lunch of bread and
ewes' milk cheese, saw a beautiful girl in the distance (usual story)
Abandoning his meal in a nearby cave, he ran to meet her. When he returned a few months
later, the mold (Penicillium roqueforti) had transformed his plain cheese into Roquefort.
 Questions:
 What was he doing for all those months!
 Surprised that the sheep had not eaten his bread and cheese!
Domaine de Coyeux 2007 Muscat de Beaumes de Venise
15%, Muscat, £7.99, Majestic
 A fortified wine, or Vin Doux Naturel,
produced in Beaumes de Venise, Domaine de
Coyeux is made from the Muscal grape
variety, fortified by the addition of grape spirit
to arrest fermentation before all the sugar has
been fermented, leaving a sweet and fresh
wine.
 Abundant floral and fruit aromas of white
peach and apricot with honeysuckle notes.
Very concentrated flavours of stone fruits,
honey and fresh acidity so that the fruits are
not cloying.
Thanks to:
 The Cheeseboard, Harrogate
 Majestic Wine, Harrogate
 Clervaux Bakery, Northallerton