Rivoire Jacquemin Comte Cheese
¥325.00 650g SLAB
Rivoire Jacquemin Comte Cheese is one of France’s really ancient cheeses. Also known as Gruyere de Comté, these cheeses are made in small dairies called “fruitière” that collect the milk of several farmers. It takes about 120 gallons of milk to make one Comté wheel (that is the daily production of 30 cows).
It was in 1860 that Alix Jacquemin founded his cheese business. Breaking away from the traditional ripening in the barrel he invented the actual ripening method in the cellar. In 1886 his daughter married Louis Rivoire. Five generations later, the Rivoire family, along with 400 milk producers, 25 fruitieres, 3 head cellarmen successfully produced 110,000 Comté wheels for worldwide distribution every year.
Rivoire Jacquemin has it’s own Affineur (cheese maturing facility – mostly deep caves) to look after the maturing cheeses from 4 months to up to a couple of years. It is then, through care and attention that the texture gets finer and the aromas grow richer. The rind that protects the cheese takes an important part in its maturing process. Laid out on spruce boards, the future Comté pass through a succession of humid cellars at different temperatures.
The affineur decides on the sequence that suits the potential of each wheel. The head cellarmen regularly turn the wheels over, salt them and rub them with morge. Morge is a salted solution containing salt and the rind of older Comtés to enable the best rind to form. Rivoire Jacquemin is the only affineur using Sea Salt from Guérande or Noirmoutier to make its morge.
The cheese has a thin beige rind which thickens and hardens as the cheese matures. The straw-coloured paste has the tendency to crack on cutting.
Tasting Notes
Rivoire Jacquemin Comte Cheese has a wonderful aroma with nutty fudge flavours developing in the more mature cheese. The bite is firm, dry and slightly granular while the acidity is slightly fizzy. The taste is full of nuts and toffee with a lovely long finish. Older cheeses take a strong, farmyard like character. As 15 months matured Comte, this really is one of the best that can be procured.
Wine Pairing
Comte is a unique cheese where the pairing really does depend on personal preferences. As a harder cheese, it will work with red wines but it needs a medium body at the very least with a preferential lean towards a full-bodied red. Old world, specifically French Bordeaux is a winner for sure.
By contrast, crisp dry white wines, still or sparkling can also work. Dry would be preferred and we wouldn’t recommend pairing this cheese with a dessert wine. Unless that’s your thing.
