Comte 13-18 Month

95% of milk used must come from Montbéliarde cows within 19 miles of the fruitière (a community based facility for pooling milk for making cheese). Wheels are rubbed in salt as they age. And Comté must be made in the Alpine regions of Doubs, Jura and Ain in France. In the 1960’s, Marcel Petite established a cheese aging facility in a former military fort - the Fort St. Antoine. Cool, damp and with moderate air flow, the fort is primarily underground and the perfect environment for aging close to 100,000 wheels of Comté produced in the surrounding area. Essex St. Cheese employee Jason Hinds and his London-based partner, Dominic Coyte, travel to Marcel Petite’s caves at Fort St. Antoine every six weeks to taste with the Chef du Cave, Claude Querry, in order to bring the best wheels at the peak age to the American market. These 75-pound wheels are something of beauty, with a golden paste flecked with tiny flecks of salty crystalline buildup that has developed over the 13 - 18 months of aging. Aromas of hazelnuts, fried onions and spring berries shine over an undercurrent of cut grass, wet earth, and straw. Flavors are herbaceous, onion-y, nutty and fruity, all blended with the taste of high-quality cream. This cheese is perfect for snacking - try with cornichons, dijon mustard and a baguette.

Size: 75 lbs Whole; 20 lbs Quarter Wheel
Cheese Type: Alpine
Texture: Firm
Milk: Cow
Milk Treatment: Raw
Rind: Natural
Coagulant: Traditional
Aging: 13-18 months
Location: Jura, France
Retail Pack: No