Le Tastevin Wine Club - Notes on Cheeses – November 20, 2024

The cheeses and bagettes are from the Plum Market store in Ann Arbor. They have been selected because they have been club favorites when pairing with Bordeaux wines. Both are slightly salty on the attack, but not on the finish.

Mimolette (Boule de Lille) - a very hard, pasteurized cow's-milk cheese from the area of Lille, France in Brittany. When consumed young it is undistinguished. However, when aged over 1 year (as is ours), it hardens, turns a deep orange color, and takes on an array of fruity and very nutty flavors with notes of butterscotch and caramel. The round, flattened ball of cheese, which some say looks like a melon, has a thick, inedible rind with a grayish, pockmarked, moon-like appearance, thanks to the work of co-evolved species of flour mite (Acarus siro). This cheese traces its origin to King Louis XIV who wanted a French cheese made to resemble Dutch Edam, the importation of which had been banned. The result is an intense cheese which is similar to aged Gouda. Mimolette reportedly was the favorite cheese of Gen. Charles DeGaulle, but he’s dead now.

Mimolette disappeared from the market in mid-2013 when the FDA began objecting to mites on the rind. Cheese mites aren’t unique to Mimolette. Most creameries that produce aged cheeses with hard natural rinds have a mite issue. And while most cheesemakers consider them pesky and will brush or wash the wheels to foil them, Mimolette producers encourage them. Mimolette’s troubles began when the FDA designated cheese mites an allergen. The agency began demanding that importers destroy wheels with more than six surface mites per square inch, a standard that effectively barred aged Mimolette. No exporter wanted to risk shipping wheels that might have to be destroyed. Ultimately, the FDA, perhaps due to public pressure or perhaps consulting with a knowledgable acarologist, lifted the prohibition and the cheese began to reappear on American shelves by 2015.

Mattica Taleggio - made from raw cow's milk from the region of Lombardy, aged at least 60 days to allow it to be sold in the United States. It has a thin, golden-orange crust with a greyish bloom and a stong, pungent smell typical of cheeses repeatedly washed with brine. Under the rind is a semi-firm, creamy cheese with a surprisingly gentle, buttery, mild flavor. The taste is fruity and slightly salty and tangy, becoming increasingly full-flavored, beefy and earthy as it ages. Taleggio is Northern Italy's best-kept secret and is considered the most refined and sophisticated of all Italian cheeses. It goes well with bold red wines with earthy overtones, and has been a Le Tastevin favorite at Brodeaux tastings in the past.

Page last updated: November 18, 2024 (EB)

©2024 Le Tastevin wine club
Members: Please contact the webmaster for updates and changes to information contained in this web site.