French Cheese

Fruity, smooth, mellow and nutty. Made in a small, village-based co-operative called a fruitière. At a few weeks' old, this Comté then enters Marcel Petite’s maturing rooms where it is regularly turned, brushed and rubbed.

Rich, ice cream texture. Buttery, with crème fraiche notes maturing to meaty ‘mushroom’. The Lincet family have been making cheese in Burgundy for the past 125 years, and this utterly decadent triple cream is a speciality. The smaller cheeses have a marvellously thin geotrichum rind, while the larger cheeses pick up the spicier flavours of a downy white penicillium coat.

Unctuous under the rind, and a slight acidity of flavour. Langres has a characteristic dip at the top, which is caused by the fact that the cheese is only turned once during maturation. The dip is not, as some say, intended as a receptacle for Champagne.

Moussey and rich. Sweetly herbal. Approachable saltiness With a nod towards the cheeses of Provence, this quenelle of young goats’ cheese is given just a touch of thyme oil. It is then ripened only to the point that the herbal quality lingers without dominating the milky flavour of the cheese itself.

Glossy and smooth, with a wrinkled rind, this pasteurised Brie offers a rich texture and a lightly vegetal, mushroomy flavour. Made in small batches by the third-generation Dongé family in Meuse, it is a fine example of French Brie.

Selected by award-winning affineur Rodolphe Le Meunier, this soft-ripened Camembert is made from pasteurised cow’s milk. Its bloomy rind encases a rich, glossy paste with buttery, earthy flavours and delicate mushroom notes.

Soft and silky. Both milky and savoury. For Rodolphe, an AOP status can get in the way of experimenting with a much-loved cheese. This is a Selles-sur-Cher in all but name, yet Rodolphe’s maturation brings balance and greater complexity.

Citrusy and only lightly goaty with gentle minerality.

Rich, with mineral tones. The caves of the Massif Central are renowned for blue cheese maturation. Unlike its Southern cousins, this cheese is matured to form a thin natural rind, and is in this way closer to Stilton.

Strong and sublime. A sweet, creamy paste with sharp, mineral pockets of blue. The most acclaimed producer of Roquefort, and the only one to make their own penicillium roqueforti, extracted from rye loaves baked in house. Respect for tradition and quality is at the heart of this cheesemaking family.

Rich, meaty and spicy but counterbalanced by an edge of floral sweetness. With a silky, sometimes liquid centre and a spicy, piquant aroma, it is not hard to believe the urban myth that carrying this cheese is banned on the Paris Métro.

Delicate and smooth. Subtle ‘goatiness’ with a nut-shell finish. Named after a rebellious Christian sect from the Middle Ages and decorated with the region’s Occitan cross. Made by the Fricker family in Saint-Félix-Lauragais and ripened for the thinnest of wrinkled rinds and the complexity of gentle, sweet milk.

Sweet and mouth-filling, with notes of ‘hazelnut’. Nurtured by Romain Dubois to grow a soft, fluffy coat. As the cheese becomes firmer, the paste grows denser and the floral flavours are balanced by deeper, nuttier tones, but Crottin is delicious at all ages.

Bubbles and cheese: a celebration that never goes flat. A vibrant sparkling wine from the Loire, with cheeses chosen to match its fizz. Raise a glass, then a cracker. A lively lift to every bite.