Tour De France 2017 Cheese Selection

• Prestige Comte - aged 3 years - Jura, France (200g) - cows' milk - unpasteurised. Comté is produced in the Jura Massif region of Eastern France. The milk used is mainly from Montbeliarde Cattle or French simmental (or a cross breed). This hard mountain cheese is matured in the silence and darkness of caves where the cheese gets its unique taste, texture and colour. A wedge of this 3 year aged Comte reveals a pale yellow interior and a crystalline texture. The main aromatic flavours are a balance of brown-butter and roasted-nut aromas with a sweet finish.
• Morbier - Franche Comte, France (200g) - cows' milk - unpasteurised. Contrary to its smell, Morbier has a mild taste and leaves a wonderful, nutty aftertaste. Its flavour is complex and fruity with a slight zing. The ivory-yellow pâte is often described as supple, springy, and silky when touched, yet dry and sticky at the same time. It gets immediately identified because of its black layer of tasteless ash, which separates horizontally in the middle. The cheese takes about 45 days to 3 months for full maturation with yellowish, moist and leathery rind.
• Peyrigoux - Perigord, France (200g) - cows' milk - unpasteurised. Hailing from France's Perigord region, perhaps most famous for Truffles, this is a lovely creamy cheese, and is perfect with fresh crusty bread.  Offered in a characteristic wreath shape, it is ivory-coloured, has a soft interior, which ripens inwards and becomes very creamy with increasing ripeness. It has a natural rind with white mould, a smooth texture with a delicate, fresh taste.
• Mont Ventoux - Provence, France (90g) – goats' milk - unpasteurised. A goat cheese produced around the famous Mont Ventoux. It takes its name from the mountain of the same name in Provence.  The shape is an elongated cylinder just like the Provence Mountain.  Its pate is smooth and becomes harder when matured.  There is charcoal on the bottom of the cheese.  The taste is smooth and goaty which gets stronger during its aging.
• Roquefort - Roquefort - Sur - Soulzon, France (200g) – sheeps' milk – pasteurised. Roquefort is a popular French cheese reported to be a favourite of Emperor Charlemagne. It is produced entirely from milk of ewes that feed on vast limestone plateau. In France, it is called the 'cheese of kings and popes'.  This cheese is protected by AOC guidelines. Roquefort cheese is moist and breaks into little pieces easily. It is rich, creamy, complex and sharp, tangy, salty in flavour.

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