Comté - an update

In December, David Lebovitz wrote two posts about his visit to two local Jura Mountain fruitiéres to see how this fabulous mountain cheese is made - complete with lots of photos and his ever amusing recounting of events as they occurred. 

Sadly somehow I forgot to make the post. They are very well worth reading especially if you are nowhere near the French Jura Mountains! One of them is called Comté Cheese Making and the other is called Comté Cheese Ripening and Tasting. And for more information, see their very impressive website with some hilarious videos:  Le Comté - nous apprends à savourer le temps...

More Comté Joy and La Percée du Vin Jaune

For you fans of Comté, a great pairing is always the wine that comes from the same region the cheese is made - the Jura. The marriage of Comté and le Vin jaune (yellow wine) is the penultimate match. Certain aromas like dried citrus fruits, walnuts and curry, found in the wine are similar to those in a good vieux (aged) Comté, which explains the amazing accord between the two. It is quite astounding as a matter of fact! 

That being said, it is pretty hard to find outside of the area, but there is a festival held each year in February called La Percée du Vin Jaune (The Opening of the Yellow Wine) that gives people the opportunity to experience the newly released vintage in situ. The crucial piece of information about this rare wine is that legal requirements for aging mean that the vintage being sampled will be from the autumn harvest seven years earlier. Tasting sessions take place in a different regional village each year and have attracted over 30,000 visitors to imbibe this gem.

So what is this wine le Vin Jaune ?  It is a white wine produced in Eastern France, specifically the Jura.  It is similar to dry fino or Amontillado sherry but it isn't a fortified wine like sherry.  It is made from a late harvest Savagnin grape which grows in the area. The wine gets its character from being matured in barrels under a film of yeast, known as the voile, (the veil) which develops on the wine's surface. This is sort of like the "flor" in Sherry production, and takes between two to three years to develop. The characteristic yellow colour and nutty flavours of the wine develop as it oxidizes and ages in the barrel. Some of the most premium examples coming from the marl based vineyards in the Château-Chalon AOC. In other French wine regions, notably Gaillac, vintners have been experimenting with similar style wines made from Chardonnay and other local grape varieties using cultured yeast.

The Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) regions permitted to produce vin jaune include Château-Chalon AOC, Arbois Vin Jaune AOC, Cotes du Jura vin Jaune AOC and Vin Jaune de L'Etoile.  Some adventurous winemakers in Gaillac have produced the vin de voile wine, which is similar in style but made mainly from Chardonnay grapes and cultured yeast. 

Other pairings suggested are:

Whites "floral" wines:  These work especially well with vieux Comté but also with the more lactic based younger ones highlighting their butter, caramel aromas.

Red wines:  Vieux Comté pairs very well with red wines of the Jura called the Rubis du Jura which are lighter in structure with a high degree of finesse.

Sparkling wines: A grand harmony is created between crumbly texture and mellow flavours of Comté and the Crémant du Jura (sparkling wines of the Jura), which tend towards the sweeter side of sparkling wines.

Source:  http://www.jura-vins.com/vins-jaunes-jura.htm 

Casse-croûte de copains aux morilles et Comté

8 large slices of pain de campagne (Polaine for instance)
100 g of dried morels
250 g de Comté grated
5 cl de Vin Jaune
25 cl cream
40 g de butter
1 shallot, chopped fine
Salt, pepper & some branches of chives

Soak the dried morels (or other dried mushrooms) half an hour in hot water. Cut each of them in half lengthwise to clean them. Drain well. Sauté the chopped shallot in 20 g butter, then the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Add the cream and reduce heat to low and add the grated cheese and wine.

Preheat the oven to grill at 210 ° C (gas mark 7). Fry the bread slices in 20 g of butter on both sides. Then spread each slice with the morel and Comté cream, which must be very smooth. Toast the bread in the oven until golden brown. Sprinkle a few chopped chives and serve hot. Suggested Wine: These toasts with the Vin Jaune wine  (pour 8 friends)

Recipe from : www.comte-gourmand.com

Comté

Since the 12th century deep in the Jura mountains where winters are long and harsh, local inhabitants have made the celebrated cheese - Comté, as a way to conserve their milk production.  Awarded its AOC in 1958, the fame of Comté, its economic importance for the area and terroir have become emblematic of the region of the Jura, parts of the Doubs and a small portion of Ain.  

Made exclusively from milk of the Montbéliard race, each cheese is awarded a score out of 20 according to overall appearance, quality of rind, internal appearance, texture and taste. Those scoring 15 or above are given green casein labels (with the characteristic image of a bell) and may be called 'Comté extra', those with 12-15 being given brown labels and simply called 'Comté'. Any cheese scoring under 3 marks for taste, or under 12 overall is prohibited from being named Comté.  Ageing is from 4 to 24 months with some famous affineurs such as Bernard Anthony holding out for the truly sublime at 36 and 48 months (with a price tag to match).

There is an incredible diversity of taste in Comté. Some are more salty than others, some are very sweet, very milky, others very rich roasted flavor, but always with subtle aromas for each bouquet. There are summer and winter Comté of course. The first is distinguished by its yellow pate and is much more intense than the second, which is pale ivory. The subtlety of flavors of a winter Comté are full of the smells of fresh hay while summer Comté is full of the scent of high meadows full of flowers and herbs.  There are six aroma families for this wonderful cheese:

Lactic : the smell of milk and various dairy products
Fruity : the smells of fruit and also of honey, and  floral odors.
Roasted empyreumatic : the word empyreumatic is from the Greek pyros meaning fire and these aromas are of caramelized, roasted milk.
Vegetal : the smells of  vegetables, fresh or dried plants, humus.
Animal : the smell related to egg yolk, leather and barnyards.
Spicy : the different smells of spices and flavours such as vanilla, nutmeg, pepper.

The nabob of food bloggers, David Lebovitz has penned two recent blogs on the making of Comté :  Comté Cheese Making and Comté Cheese Ripening and Tasting.  As always in his amusing and infectious style, he provides beautiful photographs and tons of information including how he flipped his car in the snow during his visit!  I highly recommend it as it is well worth reading.  

You can also check out the official website : Comté  In French but it has an English version.