Le Tastevin - Cheeses for the 1995 Bordeaux Winetasting - November 19, 2014

Quickes Traditional Cloth Bound Cheddar (English, pasteurized cows' milk) has been grouped among the world's great farmstead Cheddar cheeses along with Montgomery's, Keens, Fiscalini Bandaged, Grafton, Upland's Pleasant Ridge Reserve, and Double Gloucester, all of which we have tasted at Le Tastevin in the past, but each Cheddar is somewhat different in style. For over 450 years the Quicke family have been farming at Newton St Cyres in Deyon. Over 40 years ago Sir John Quicke built the dairy where today, their daughter Mary Quicke continues to produce award-winning cheese. Quicke's Traditional Cheddar is made using milk from pasture grazed Quicke's cows, a mixture of Kiwi friesian, Swedish Red and Montebeliarde. Each one of the delicious cheddars is individually crafted by hand. The cheese makers can count over 100 years' of experience between them and use original recipes dating back generations. The cheeses are wrapped in muslin cloth, which allows the cheese to breathe, forming the signature, inedible, rind, a hallmark of artisan cheddar. Our cheese tonight was slowly matured for 12 months, developing a rich and complex depth of flavors with a balanced, lingering finish. The result? A '5 mile' flavor. Drive 5 miles and you can still taste it. , a flavor that keeps evolving on your palate from start to finish and beyond. A depth of flavor that only artisan cheeses can deliver.

Isigny Ste-Mere Double Cream French Brie (made in Normandie from pasteurized cow's milk) - a soft cheese with a mold rind (Penicillium candidum) and is a close cousin to Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun which are considered the most refined of the Brie cheeses Soft ripened cheeses age over a relatively short period of time, two to eight weeks, with a perfect window of opportunity for perfectly ripe brie being 10 days or less. The AOC Bries mentioned above are unavailable here because these raw milk cheeses are too young (less than 60 days) to meet US government regulations. A good Brie will have a bulging side with a slight bit of ooze, such as The Fromage Affinios that we have had on numerous occasions. Our Isigny is made in Normandy from the best milks but is pasteurized to allow early US distribution. The wheels are ripened by the traditional process on wood shelves.where they spends at least 7 days. By using this process, they mature from the rind to the heart like a Normandy Camembert, allowing the cheese to be more flavorful. However, no brie has the flavor of the Fromage Affionois.

Page last updated: December 18, 2016 (EB)