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Pressed and Uncooked cheese
These cheeses have a firm, subtle pate with a distinctive soft
fruity taste. Their production does not correspond to any particular geographical
location in France. One can find these cheeses made in the plains and the mountain
regions of France, the Pyrenees, the Alps or Brittany.
An essential part of the production process for this family of
cheese is in the drainage of the whey. This lasts 7 to 24 hours and during this
period the mild curd is pressed, this give the pate a drier texture than the texture
of the soft cheeses. As the curd forms it is continually sliced into small dice,
this enables the whey to drain off. The curd is then wrapped into a large clothe
and placed in a wooden press. As pressure is applied to the press the last remnants
of the whey are squeezed out. Once this operation is finished the cheese is dipped
into a salt water bath or rubbed with dry salt. The rind is brushed so that the
outside of the cheese is smooth and free from any traces of humidity.
Once the above operations are completed, the cheeses are placed
in a well aired, humid cellar where they are kept for 15 days to 4 months depending
on their period of affinage ( maturing ). During this maturing process the cheeses
are regularly turned. The rind becomes hard and the texture irregular, whereas
the texture of the pate remains smooth, neither hard nor soft but firm.
The great names of this family of cheeses are: Cantal, Saint-Nectaire,
Ossau-lraty, Tommes de Montagne, Morbier, Reblochon.
Pressed and cooked cheeses
As the milk's curd is both cooked and pressed, the cheeses require
more work than their cousins. Generally they are made in a large round wheel (
grandes roues ) forms. The reason is that farmers and communities often make the
cheeses out of the entire day's milking from their herds. The cheeses are then
stocked to provide the sustenance during the long winter months when the farms
are isolated by climatic conditions. These cheeses are known as "fromages
de garde" ( cheeses for save keeping ).
In the mountain regions, one finds two distinct types of cheeses.
Cheeses that have been made from summer milk when the herds are taken up to graze
in the high mountain meadows. They have a pate with a good strong fatty consistency
and a fruity taste. Whereas the winter cheeses are made of milk from lower pasture
not covered in snow, or from hay when the herds are confined to the barns. The
pate tends to be less fatty and the taste not as pronounced.
The size of the cheese molds is determined by the amount of milk
collected. On occasions they can weigh up to 70 kilograms ( 154 pounds ). The
milk is subjected to a complex process. First, it is heated to 50 deg. C ( 120
deg. F ), this allows for a longer ripening period. Then the curd is cut, crushed,
reheated, brewed, drained, mixed and pressed. It takes about 10 liters ( 11 quarts
) of milk to make a kilogram ( 2.2 lbs ) of cheese. The ripening process starts
in cold cellars, then the cheeses are transferred to warmer cellars. This change
of temperature effects the fermentation of the pate, causing holes or horizontal
creaks ( lenures ) to develop. The Emmental cheese is a good example of cheese
with holes. After several weeks in the ripening cellars the cheeses start being
covered by morge, this coating allows a fermentation action on the pate and helps
forming a a hard rind. The cooked and pressed cheeses have a firm and compact
pate, with buttery golden yellow color.
The regions of France that specialize in these cheeses are the
Jura and the Savoie. The great names are Gruyere, Emmental, Comte, Beaufort and
Abondance.
The Suggested Wines to Serve with the Cheeses along with comments
from the course .. Our comments are in ( )
Dugat, Bourgogne 1998
This exemplary wine maker produces very few bottles, his vineyards
are tiny with only 4 hectares under cultivation. In the village of Gevery, Monsieur
Dugat is know for his wisdom, modesty, deep love and understanding of winemaking.
His wines have a distinct style and once drunk are never forgotten. They are extremely
strong wines, but at the same time have a finesse that develops a surprisingly
sweet, pure, fruity taste. The 1998 vintage is particularly well balance and has
a long nectareous after taste. The wine presents a somber color and a bouquet
of bitter cherry and red fruits. The taste has similar qualities and is agreeable
on the palate.
( We found this to be a pleasant, but not overly complex
pinot. In it's youth it has a definite fruit forward character with lots of cherry,
mild acid but with none of the "barnyard" complexity to the nose that
we love so much in red burgundies. It was very clean in the mouth with not very
much length on the palate. Note: unlike other producers of Bourgogne ... Dugat's
wines all come from one vineyard, not a blend of several vineyards )
Domaine Vincent Girardin, Meursault "Les Narvaux"
1997
This wine comes from Cote d'Or. Vincent Giradin is an ambitious
wine maker blessed with a technical knowhow that make his wines extremely sought
after. His wines have a strong fruity and woody flavour. His vineyards cover 14
hectares and are equally divided between red and white wines. Harvestion of these
grapes is by hand. The white wine is filtered and matured in oak barrels. The
taste is deliciously dry and rish with aromas full of flavors of butter, nuts
and spices. An excellant wine for white fish dishes or as an aperitif wine.
( One of our favorite producers in Meursault. This wine
is very well balanced ( even for the somewhat weaker 97 vintage ). Clean, crisp
herbal buttered tastes evolve nicely in the mouth and there is a touch of acidity
for freshness. Not overly complex like some of the better vintages. The only thing
that we would rather have tried would have been a fully aged ( say an '86 ) Meursault
to try with these cheeses. The richness and complexity of an older meursault would
have been astounding with them ).
The Cheeses: The cheeses are listed in the
recommended order of tasting. Here we will include both the supplied notes on
the cheeses and the associated wines along with our comments in ( ).
Note: they reccomend that you remove the rind when doing these
tastings. ( we kind of did this but candidly we did not want to miss out on
any of them so mostly we ate the whole thing )
Pas de l'Escalette 
This cheese is produced in small quantities on the plateau of
Larzac. The pastures of this region give milk which makes a cheese that conveys
the exquisite taste of mulberry bush and hawthorn. ( hmmm having never
tasted a hawthorn nor mulberry bush, we couldn't comment on this description ...
HOWEVER .. if any of your remember the orgasmic moaning of Meg Ryan in the movie
Haryy met Sally and the subsequent woman who said "I'll have what she's having"
...... folks this was the cheese of the evening. It was so phenominal, no one
wanted to even think about going on to the others. This cheese is to soft, delicate
cheeses what Montrachet is to chardonnay ! Soft, clean with lots and lots of subtle
buttered herbal tastes. The only thing that confused us was how they could call
this extremely soft cheese a "hard cheese")
Meursault - The strong flavors of the wine completely dominates
the subtle taste of the cheese
Bourgogne - The association is of no interest. Move on to the
next tasting
( we agree ... both wines were a definite mismatch for the
cheese. Perhaps a very light Chablis .. or even a Brut Champagne might have been
a better match )
St. Nectaire 
Made from Salers cows that feed on the very rich and perfumed volcanic pasture
lands of the uplands of the Auvergne region of France. The Saint Nectaire fermier
(farm) cheese is easily recognized by its green label. The aging process (affinage)
is carried out in old vine cellars. At maturity the thick rind gives off a subtle,
slightly pungent smell of rye straw. The pâte, which is creamy, should have
a pronounced taste of the lush pasture, lands of its origin.. ( here is
a definite case where the rind overshadows and even perhaps detracts from the
pate ( hey we're using cheese terms now ) because it seemed to add a bit of a
bitter overlay. The overall taste was of mushroomed nuts.
Meursault - An excellant exchange is found between the cheese
and the wine. On the first contact the savor of the cheese is enjoyed, followed
by the fruity taste in the wine. A happy marraige, they compliment each other.
( we thought that the youth of the meursault fought a bit against the cheese.
If this had been an older meursault we thought it would have been a great match.
We thought perhaps a the semillions of bordeaux might also have been a good match.
Bourgogne - In the first instance the cheese dominates the wine.
Then the aromas of the wine start to develop, only to finish by a bitter taste.
Disappointing. ( totally agree ... the butter, nutty flavor of the cheese
fought with the young cherried pinot ... we had the same bitter reaction )
Reblochon 
Reblochon was the first cheese of the Savoie region to be granted
the AOC certification, in 1958. The cheese is made by mixing the milks of three
different breeds of cow : abondance, tarine, and montbéliarde. The birth
of this fascinating cheese is due to the ingenuity of the Savoie herdsmen. In
the 13th century, the farmers were completely dependent on landowners who insisted
that all the herd's milk was their property. At milking time, the herdsmen did
not quite complete the milking. After the controllers had left, the herdsmen finished
the milking. They "re-blochaient". From this the cheese was named Reblochon,
made with the creamy milk of a second milking. The cheeses are put into a cellar
to dry, and are turned every 2 days and washed with whey. From this process, the
rind turns a orange-yellow with a velvety texture. Reblochon is a well-proportioned
cheese with a nutty after taste that contrasts with a strong odour of the cellar.
The creamy cheese often has a herbal aroma. ( ok folks here another one
that will "linger on your nose" for some time to come and one whose
character is definitly different when the rind is tasted with the cheese. To us
the rind was a bit too strong to enjoy. However, eating just the pate is really
great with it's complex flavors )
Meursault - Exceptional concordance, the palate immediately appreciates
the balance of flavors between the two products. The sensation of enjoyment last
a long time. ( A very nice match, however we thought that the acidic youthfullness
of the wine fought just a bit with the cheese. If you at the cheese with the rind
it completely dominated the wine )
Bourgogne - The first tast is extremely agreeable. The wine aromas
develop well and elevate the qualities of the cheese. Little by little the cheese
completely dominates the wine and imposes its flavors. ( nope ... for us
this was not a match .. we found an "off taste" that came to the mouth
when the wine and cheese were combined ... we thought that perhaps a Barolo would
have been a better match )
Beaufort 
This remarkable cheese was already know in the time of the Romans.
It takes about 500 liters (130 gallons) of milk to make a Beaufort of 40/45 kg.
The cheese is made from the milk given by the mahogany-colored Beaufort cows,
called the Tarines or Tarentaises. This ancient mountain breed originally came
from the Indo-Asian continent. Beaufort cheeses come in three versions, Beaufort,
Beaufort d’été (summer Beaufort),and Beaufort chalet d’alpage
which is made in the mountain chalets. The pâte of the winter cheese is
white, whereas the summer cheeses are a pale yellow, due to the cows munching
on the alpine flowers. Ripening takes at least four months in humid (92°)
cellars with the temperature below 15° . The cheeses are constantly wiped
and rubbed with brine. As the ripening period is extended the pâte develops
a yellow hue and the taste becomes complex and stronger, with a subtle taste of
salt. The younger cheeses have a mild fruity, sweet taste. ( perhaps ours
was not fully ripened ... but we found this to be a very plain, one dimensional
cheese. It was a bit dry and really had no distinctive flavor one way or the other.
)
Meursault - Interesting, the flavors of the cheese and the wine never seem
to meet each other. They each try to dominate each other without success, the
inevitable divorce
Bourgogne - Here we have a concordance the will leave no one indifferent, the
wine brings out all of the delicate and comlex flavors of the great mountain cheese.
( since the cheese was very bland ... it neither fought with, not greatly
combined with either of the wines )
Cantal 
This distinguished cheese is the grandfather of the cheeses from the Auvergne
region. Over the years its reputation has appealed to more and more cheese lovers.
History tells us that 2000 years ago, due to hard winters in a region where the
terrain made traveling difficult, farmers produced large cheeses so that there
was always something to eat throughout the year. In 1980 this remarkable cheese
was accepted in to the prestigious AOC family. The form of the cheese is massive
and dumpy, with a soft interior. When kneaded, the pâte tends to melt in
the hand. Auvergne is a region known for a thousand volcanoes; blessed by mountain
storms and summer sun, the pasture lands are extremely fertile; Cantal cheese
captures all the richness of these pasture lands. A well-ripened Cantal has a
vigorous taste, whereas a young cheese has the sweetness of raw milk. The "pate"
is firm and homogeneous, with a thick smooth, dry, grayish-brown rind. Its smell
is of the good earth and rich pasture lands ( We found this firm cheese
to be really enjoyable .. it's flavor reminded us of hay fields.)
Meursault - The concordance is surprising. One immediately senses the aroma
of thyme, which one would never have imagined. ( hmmm well we didn't sense
any thyme, we did find that this cheese in fact aided in enjoying the length of
wine. The two flavors seemd to at first fight but then when mixed together produced
a really nice combination )
Bourgogne - Not happy campers. Taste the wine and cheese separately (
can we say "Ptueee" .. wow this is a great example of flavors that don't
mix. We thought that a spanish Rioja might have been a better match )
Comte 
Produced from the milk of cows that have been fed from the rich pastures of
the Jura mountains, no additives are mixed with the milk. The Comté requires
a long maturing period. During this period of affinage its crust becomes a golden
yellow and hardens. Its chewy pâte acquires a fruity taste when made with
summer milk , and a nutty taste when made from the milk of winter. Every cheese
from this region before being sold is judged by a professional jury guaranteeing
its quality. ( This was or 2nd favorite cheese. What we found interesting
was that the scent of the cheese, with it's sweet mouldy cellar scent, in no way
prepared you for the nutty buttered herbal taste of the cheese itself. This is
one that got even better after several hours at room temperature )
Meursault - A tasting made in heaven, the perfect marraige. Start with a morsel
of cheese, then a sip of wine. The commune is immediate, each playing to each
other's strengths. Take a nother sip of wine, it does not get any better. (
well "close" to heaven anyway .. if the meursault as fully aged THEN
this would really have been a major marriage !! )
Bourgogne - A splendid marriage of flavors and savors. In the first instance
the cheese demonstrates it qualities. One then tastes the black fruit aromas of
the wine, to finish with the nutty taste of the Comte. Definitly a tasting to
enjoy. ( here we agree ... the fresh, youthful, fruit fowardness was a great
combination. We also thought a young Rhone red would be nice with this too).
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