Le Tastevin Wine Club - Notes on Cheeses – March 19, 2025

The cheeses are from York Food and Drink in Ann Arbor, and the bagettes are from Plum Market, also in Ann Arbor. The cheese have been selected because they have high fat content that help cut through our Granache and Syrah tannins, and are salty on the attack, not on the finish, and creamy.

Comté (unpasteurized cow’s milk) is an AOC-protected cheese (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée” or Controlled Designation of Origin). This label ensures that the food is made according to its traditions. It has to be produced in a certain region, according to specific processes, and packaged in a specific way. This Charles Arnaud Comté 3 year is considered one of the finest cheeses in the world. Comté 3 year has a pale yellow interior, and a firm and dense texture with crystallization. Its flavor is complex and stronger than that of 18 and 24 month Comtés, presenting fruity, nutty, and caramelized sensations. Comté is made with raw cow’s milk, cooked pressed and salted on the surface. Charles Arrnaud Fromageries has deep roots in Poligny, France, at the foot of the Jura mountains since 1907. The original owner, Charles Arnaud, would park his truck in front of the famed Café de Flore in Paris in the 1930s. It was there that he came up with the name for his Comté—Juraflore. The business is now run by Jean-Charles Arnaud, Charles’ grandson. Their renowned Comté cheese get a taste of history, too. They're aged in the Fort des Rousses, France’s second-largest fortress, which was transformed into aging cellars in 1997. This is a repurposed stone military fort commissioned by Napoleon in the 1800s in France’s Jura mountains. The fort is comprised of seven levels, most of which are hidden underground and built for optimal affinage.

Roquefort AOP Société Caves Abeille (raw sheep milk) is a cheese that is a pride of French gastronomy. For centuries, nature and man have worked hand in hand to bring the Roquefort Société cellars to life. Their 12,000 m² of natural cellars are full of secrets and give this sheep's milk cheese its unique texture and taste. The naturally occurring cracks in the rock, called "fleurines," connect the various cellars on the side of the Combalou mountain. They are the result of the collapse of limestone cliffs on the edge of the Causse. Today, they allow Société's master refiners to regulate the temperature and humidity in the cellars, ideal for naturally ripening this blue-veined cheese. The Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) for this raw sheep's milk cheese offers consumers a guarantee of its origin and its production. Ewe's milk, exclusively from the Lacaune breed, is collected once a day from December to July from breeders-producers located in a limited geographical area around the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. Once collected, inspected, and carefully selected, approximately 15 liters of raw sheep's milk are needed to make a 3 kg cylinder of Roquefort, which is called "Roquefort bread" in its entirety. Like Gorgonzola DOP or Bleu des Causses AOP, Roquefort AOP Société Caves Abeille is one of the blue-veined cheeses that can be made from cow's, goat's, or sheep's milk. Blue-veined cheeses are so-called because of the green or blue veins present in their interior. It is during the coagulation of the milk Penicillium roqueforti fungus is added to produce the edible blue mold. Since 150 years, this fungus is still cultivated on rye bread, and the best, selected strains are incorporated into raw sheep's milk, giving this cheese its melting texture and distinctive flavor. The Roquefort AOP Société Caves Abeille loaves are then aged in the natural cellars, placed on their wooden racks. The Société Master Agners patiently watch over them for 2 to 3 weeks, before continuing their maturation in a temperature-controlled room.

Page last updated: March 17, 2025 (EB)

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