12-month aged cooked-curd Alpine-style semi-hard cheese, in the same family as Comté, Beaufort and Gruyère, but with its own Australian identity.
Aspect: deep brown/grey hard rind with a pale-yellow dense semi-hard paste.
Texture: firm & elastic paste, dense & compact, with some small openings.
Flavour: a complex & sophisticated cheese, aged to perfection in our cheese cellars, with an excellent balance and length of flavours. Its aromatic profile is mainly brothy, earthy, meaty, umami, animaly, with nutty and fruity notes, and a hint of sweetness. Made with animal rennet, so not suitable for vegetarians.
Weight: approx. 8 kg, sold whole or cut.
Eat: Excellent for eating as is, on a cheese board, or alone with quince paste, seasonal fruit or a little honey. Excellent also for melting/grilling, including in any sauce, gratin or other dish requiring well-flavoured quality cheese.
Pair: Vin jaune, a sherry-like white wine from the Jura region of
France, or a dry sherry such as Palo Cortado, lends itself very well to this hard-cooked cheese, with its nutty, meadow & sometimes fruity flavours. An aromatic dry white with little oak treatment also works nicely eg Pinot Blanc, Chablis or other dry, unoaked Chardonnay, Riesling. For beers, try Pilsner, Blonde & Belgian Ales. Try Pinot Noir or Sangiovese for a red wine pairing. Also goes strikingly well with a fruity aged sake like Miyaizumi Sharaku Junmai.
