Just recently, I made another visit to Burgundy – to the world where wine is the king and cheese is the queen (the latter for me, the first one for everyone). About wine, the story is more than simple – it is good, and the best ones ask for a decent amount of contacts and money to obtain, but it is different with cheese. Cheese is for everyone: it is available and beyond admirable and various. It is king, especially if eaten with bread and its closest partner, wine. Because which queen is without a king? Or vice versa.

So, although there are scores and scores of Burgundy cheeses, one has to start somewhere – either at the market or the cheese shop. And then it's just about choosing from light and fresh to mature and stinky. From soft to hard, from white to blue. From the most significant to the lesser-known or totally unknown. When in love with cheese, none are bad. They are different and surprising, yet always worth the trip. It's more about the purpose and journey rather than the result. And if that's the story, then the choice is yours. Mine is simple - more texture, more variety, more taste.

Abbaye de Citeaux

About 900 years ago, the St Nicolas de Citeaux Abbey was founded. But only around 1925 did the monks start to put it to good use (cheese lover’s perspective) by making this scarce and exclusive cheese, rarely found outside Burgundy even today (due to small production) as the milk comes solely from Montebeliarde cows and there are not many of them. One must travel to Burgundy to taste this cheese, and it is worth the journey. Sweet, creamy, and smooth with a washed rind, it is best enjoyed with bread and a glass of light wine from Burgundy, but others might disagree and pair it with a white.

Royal Fourré à la Truffe

You do not have to know much about this cheese, only the fact that it is triple cream (do not be afraid) and filled with truffles, making it one of the most delicious cheeses there is. At least in Burgundy. Paired with Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru, it will change your life forever and a pleasure to be enjoyed in Burgundy.

Delice de pommard moutarde

You know these moments when you eat cheese and wonder, what's that? What's that taste you love? Eating this one makes you wonder. Judging by the name, mustard is clearly present. Yes, it is evident, but that's not it. There's another level to every bite from freshness and triple cream and something else. What is that? Something else? Just all of it put together. It's like eating cream cheese mixed with butter, but in a perfect way in which the balance between everything is so delicate that it's hard to resist. And those mustard husks. They add so much. A fresh baguette and a slice of this will make a difference.

Satonnay

Produced in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region from unpasteurized goat milk, this cheese gets its unique taste from those charming flowers it has been coated in. The cheese itself is tiny, but tart, as goat cheese tends to be, yet creamy. Flowers bring another dimension, making it taste of nuts, flowers, and dry summer evenings in the fields when the air smells of warmth and sun.

Charbonneau

One of those cheeses that has a pleasing taste either freshly made or matured. It is available in its naked version - you crumble it on bread, on salads, or eat with a touch of honey – to its mature stage when the outer layer is coated with its characteristic grey mold and its taste leans towards spicy notes and tartness. Either way, it is good, depending on the purpose. For a cheese plate, choose the matured one and enjoy on bread with a slice of butter. And some walnuts.

Are these undoubtedly the ones to start your cheese journey in Burgundy? No. But will you appreciate them if you do? Yes.

I bought these at fromagerie Alain Hess in Beaune.

Address
Fromagerie Alain Hess
7 place Carnot
21200 BEAUNE

Cheeses of Burgundy