The Cheesemonger's Tales

by Arthur Cunynghame

  And the main conclusion? That we are all too confined by the convention that cheese should be served at the end of the meal. Bring the Beaufort to the start of the meal and serve it with a full-bodied Champagne as an appetiser. The moment will be right and, if your guests are half as appreciative as those at my tasting, you will have a success on your hands.

  In 1975 I went to work in the Champagne region, where I stayed in a small room above a café and worked for Marne et Champagne, the producers of our Giesler Champagne. I spent some time in all departments of the company: bottling line, blending, packaging etc. and learned quite a lot about the production of Champagne, if not so much about the growing of the grapes. I had little contact with the owner of the business, a somewhat austere man called Monsieur Burtin with looks like General de Gaulle, but towards the end of my stay the sales Director, a lovely man by the name of Monsieur Herriot, invited me to dinner with a colleague. We went to Les Berceaux, an extremely good restaurant in the centre of Epernay where Monsieur Herriot, who knew the simple lodgings I was in, explained to his colleague that they had just spent more on the starter at Les Berceaux than I was spending on a whole week at my café!

  The Champagne region of France is one of the most northerly locations where one can expect grapes to have any chance of ripening sufficiently to make a half-reasonable wine. What makes Champagne great rather than half-reasonable is the fact that it is blended and that it is sparkling – the still white wines of Champagne are not up to much.

  The bubbles are due to the skills shown, towards the end of the 17th century, by the monks of the Benedictine Abbey of Hautvillers and, in particular, by Dom Pérignon. He discovered that the natural sparkle, which resulted from fermentation, could be trapped in the bottle by using a tight fitting cork and a strong bottle, giving the wine those magnificent bubbles. The process remained a little hit-and-miss until the 19th century when a Monsieur François discovered that a stronger fermentation in bottle could be encouraged by the addition of sugar and yeast; a process perfected by Louis Pasteur. However, fermentation in the bottle produced sediment in the bottle. To cope with this, the wine was sometimes decanted into a fresh bottle or else just sold with the sediment. However, it was not long before the chef des caves at Veuve Clicquot worked out that he could get the sediment into the neck of the bottle by gently shaking and inverting the bottle, a process known as remuage. From there it was a short step to using the pressure in the bottle to expel the sediment when the cork was removed (dégorgement). He topped up the bottle with a little extra wine, re-corked it and the ‘Champagne Method’ was born. To this day every bottle of Champagne is produced in this way.

  Integral to the quality of Champagne is the art of blending wines from different vineyards to produce a wine better than any of its single components. The overall Champagne vineyard area is huge and each of the three main areas – Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blancs and Vallée de la Marne – produces wines quite distinct in style.

  Equally big differences result from the different grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. To me Pinot Noir, the historically traditional grape of Champagne, is the foundation of all great Champagnes, giving body, structure, intensity and good ageing potential. A high percentage of Pinot Noir is essential if the Champagne is to be enjoyed with food, especially with cheese. Pinot Meunier is useful in providing fruit and a certain youthful characteristic but is, to my mind, the least valuable of the Champagne grapes. Chardonnay, a relative newcomer to Champagne, is valuable in lightening a little the Pinot Noir and providing a welcome freshness, finesse and elegance. By itself Chardonnay can produce a pleasant aperitif Champagne.

  Because of this element of blending, the great wines of Champagne come from businesses known as Champagne Houses, which usually buy in grapes from growers in many different areas to make their wine. The concept of ‘Château bottled’ is alien to Champagne. The key is not the vineyard or Château but the skill of each Champagne House, in blending. The great blenders are Krug, Bollinger, Ruinart, Louis Roederer, Laurent Perrier, Taittinger, Perrier-Jouet and Pol Roger.

  It was to Pol Roger that I made my way one sunny spring day to meet Patrice Noyelle, their very friendly Président du Directoire and the first in the history of the business to be appointed from outside the family. Patrice is from Burgundy, where he still has a house, and was head-hunted from Mommessin when Pol Roger were looking for someone to oversee the transition between generations of the family. He has achieved great things in the eight years he has been at the helm; dusting off some of the old ways and injecting a new sense of purpose and quality into this respected house. Pol Roger remains quite a small house, selling some one and a half million bottles a year compared to Bollinger’s three million. Just over half the wine comes from their own 85 hectares of vineyards and just under half is bought in as grapes with Pol Roger overseeing the vinification.

  Approaching Pol Roger along the Avenue de Champagne, with its magnificent mansion facades acting as a role call of the famous Champagne houses, it is clear that the Champenois do things in the grand style. The buildings inspire a sense of wonder that a mere wine can generate so much wealth. But Champagne, of course, is not a mere wine. For two centuries it has been revered as an essential part of virtually any celebration. Pol Roger’s cellars are at number 34 but it was to their grand offices in a mansion built by the original Pol Roger at the end of the 19th century, that I went to be welcomed in a beautiful salon by Patrice. Style and Champagne are synonymous and Pol Roger has style in spades. It is one of very few Champagne houses to remain under family control – despite Patrice’s appointment. He may have been able to persuade the family to part with €1.5 million to improve the cellars but his attempt to cut down a tree in the garden met with severe resistance. A keen gardener, all Patrice wanted to do was create a view of the vineyards from the offices.

  Reims may be the historic centre of Champagne and provide part of the reason for Champagne’s fame, thanks to most of the French kings being anointed in Reims cathedral, but I can’t help thinking of Epernay as the spiritual centre of Champagne. Epernay is surrounded by a gently rolling countryside scattered with vineyards, a good view of which is now afforded from Pol Roger’s offices. Epernay seems more connected with the vineyards which are the foundation of Champagne’s reputation and beneath its streets and buildings, cut into the chalk, lie over 100 km of cellars where the Champagne is made and matured.

  Pol Roger’s cellars, holding 7 million bottles, stretch to over 7 km and, at 9˚c, are the coolest in Epernay which, according to Patrice, is one reason for Pol Roger’s quality; the second fermentation in bottle is slower at lower temperatures giving a deeper flavour as well as finer bubbles. Patrice is also keen to point out that no wines at Pol Roger see any wood, which means that they remain fresher. This must be a strange departure for the Pol Roger Chef de Cave, Dominique Petit, who was previously Chef de Cave for Krug where wooden barrels are used. To achieve what they see as greater finesse, Pol Roger use only the juice from the best first pressings of the grapes and reject the ‘taille’ used in lesser Champagnes.

  Of over 300 million bottles of Champagne sold every year, 180 million are sold in France, 40 million in the UK and 20 million in the USA. For the better brands, the UK is the most important market because a huge part of the French sales is cheap ‘buyers own brand’ Champagne. Pol Roger has another major connection with England - it was Sir Winston Churchill’s Champagne of choice and indeed they have named their prestige cuvée after the great man.

  Our tasting was conducted in a bright room lit by natural sunlight with a splendid marble tasting table with inbuilt spittoons and stools of just the right height on which to perch easily while tasting.

  First up was the Pol Roger Brut Reserve White Foil, their standard non vintage. With its delightful fresh nose, it is an excellent crisp, dry, elegant and fruity wine and one which I enjoy on many occasions as an aperitif. However, despite its 33% Pinot Noir content, it did no
t have the body to accompany a cheese with as much flavour as Jean Poccard’s 2004 Beaufort d’Alpage. The Beaufort was superb. I had had it specially sent up from La Cremerie du Lac in Annecy. It was full of flavour and quite wonderful.

  Although the Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 1996 is predominantly Pinot Noir, creating a Champagne in the style of 50 years ago, and a stunning wine in its own right, it somehow didn’t seem to suit the Beaufort; it was delightful but seemed a little too soft for the cheese.

  It was Pol Roger 1998 Vintage which provided a near perfect match for the cheese. With its 60% Pinot Noir content and 40% Chardonnay, it was robust but refreshing and had all the body that was needed. It had a beautiful pale gold colour, with delightful, fruity, nutty aromas and was far more complex in flavour, with far greater depth and elegance than the Brut Reserve. It combined with the Beaufort to create a delightful spiciness and the combination really brought out the best in both the wine and the cheese.

  As is appropriate, this tasting served as an appetiser for a thoroughly enjoyable lunch at Les Berceaux, where I had been all those years ago. Recently modernised, the food seemed to be even better now.

  Cheese Families

  I like to think of cheese in family groups. Within the family the cheeses will share some common characteristics but each member of the family will have its own unique character; where the families come from, the ingredients which make up the family (i.e. is the milk cows’, sheep’s or goats’) and the way the cheeses are made will all help define the character of any individual cheese but, in choosing a cheese, the first consideration must be the family it comes from. Here are my families:

  The Hards are a dense family. They depend for their appeal on a certain brut-force and strength of character but the best of the family have learned to combine this strength with a certain finesse and complexity. With names like Montgomery Cheddar and Daylesford they have intellect as well as brawn and they are the true stars of this family. Their sheep and goat cousins are a delight, while those from the mountains have a very special appeal.

  The Crumblies have three main members, Cheshire, Lancashire and Caerphilly. They are notorious for a tendency to crumble if handled roughly but they have an endearingly delicate yet complex flavour.

  The Blues are best thought of as two rugby teams. The British Blues, such as Stilton, are full-bodied and powerful with massive physiques. Their combined pack weight easily surpasses the French Blues. The French, however, have finesse and subtlety in their favour. Fourme d’Ambert and his siblings are fleet of foot, lighter and more agile.

  The Softies are at their best when creamy and yielding, but that does not imply that they are without substance. The best amongst them can be either strong or delicate but always complex. Brie and Camembert are the most famous members of this family, but don’t forget the goat contingent and youngsters like Mozzarella.

  The Pungent family are closely related to the softies but are set apart by their strong smell, which is attributable to a bath they have in a liquid such as brine, wine or brandy. Often from northern or eastern France they have names like Pont L’Evêque and Munster.

  PARTNERS ON THE TABLES OF LYON

  St Marcellin: Etoile du Vercors

  For pure enjoyment, St Marcellin has few rivals. It is an uncomplicated cheese: soft, smooth, rich and creamy, made from cows’ milk and to be eaten within a few weeks of making.

  Although it has been made in the stunningly beautiful Isère region, bordering the Alps, since the 15th century, St Marcellin can attribute much of its fame to its presence, since the 1960’s, on the cheeseboards of so many of the great restaurants of Lyon.

  The original 15th century cheeses were quite hard because, being so small, they dried out easily. They were made from goats’ milk until the early 18th century, when there was a re-planting of forests for timber which led to a reduction in the number of goats grazing the hill-sides. Cheesemakers made up the shortfall with cows’ milk.

  It was not until the 1960’s when the cheesemaker, Jean Berruyer, was looking for new markets in Lyon, that a softer cheese was developed – still to this day called ‘à la Lyonnaise’. It was then that St Marcellin’s fame was assured. Jean had created a winner. The soft, cows’ milk cheese proved immensely popular and now dominates the market, although a few, more mature, harder cheeses are still sold in the locality.

  Jean started his business in 1942 and called it Etoile du Vercors - Star of Vercors - after the dramatic, mountainous Parc de Vercors, at the foot of which lies the town of St Marcellin, some 50 km west of Grenoble. At the time, the area was a centre for the Resistance and the rugged mountains and valleys must have provided ideal places for the maquis to seek refuge. Jean must have been quite a character because he developed his business into the leading maker of St Marcellin. Today over 100 farms are needed to supply their milk – 50,000 litres every day. Inside their dairy they employ 180 people to make the cheese.

  But, just because the business is big, it doesn’t mean that they have forsaken traditional methods. On the contrary, it is because they insist on maintaining traditional methods to ensure the quality of their cheeses that they need to employ 180 people. Small basins holding just 75 litres, enough to make 90 small cheeses, are still used to form the curd, which is left in the basins from one day to the next to slowly develop. The next morning 60 people carefully ladle the curds into moulds using small scoops. That this is carried out by hand is a vital part of the process, for no machine has yet been designed which can treat the curds as gently as the human touch. The cheeses are left in their moulds for 2½ hours and then turned, sprinkled lightly with salt, and left for 24 hours. They are now ready to come out of the moulds and pass into the first of the affinage rooms. Over some 3 weeks, they are allowed to lose part of their moisture, initially by natural drying in a warm breeze of some 20˚c, and finally to develop their delightful, soft, creamy texture, at a cooler 10˚c. At any one time, there can be a million of these tiny cheeses waiting to be enjoyed.

  Pierre Jacquet, the director of the dairy, enjoys a red or white wine from the Crozes Hermitage or St Joseph vineyards some 30 miles west, when he eats St Marcellin. But I like a young, fruity Beaujolais with this delicate cheese. The texture is creamy and supple to the feel, the aroma is milky and, although quite mild in flavour, it is incredibly rich, with a hint of the lactic acidity of soured milk, not unlike clotted cream. I find it particularly attractive at about 6 weeks of age when a blue/grey mould is just starting to grow.

  Other light creamy cheeses

  St Félicien is almost identical to St Marcellin; being made in the same way in the same area, but nearly twice the size and with a higher fat content.

  Chaource is less creamy and more salty and a little more dense than St Marcellin, but is still quite a lot lighter in texture than other soft cheeses such as Camembert.

  Brillât Savarin, named after the renowned chef, has a great richness of flavour. Sometimes the cheese is disappointing and the best maker I have found is Delin.

  Finn is a sort of English version of Brillât Savarin, made by Charlie Westhead in Herefordshire.

  Beaujolais Cru Juliénas 2003: Domaine Matray

  Lyon promoted to fame not only St Marcellin cheese but also the wines of Beaujolais. In many of the restaurants and bistros of Lyon, St Marcellin and Beaujolais are pretty well the quintessential cheese and wine pairing. The uncomplicated pleasure of a young fruity Beaujolais and a creamy St Marcellin is one of life’s more easily accepted experiences. Lyon, that great gastronomic city sitting at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Soane, is often said to have a third river flowing through it, the Beaujolais! The wines of the Beaujolais have often been thought of as light, frivolous, quaffing wines and indeed some of them are just that. This image was boosted, to the point of excess, over many years when the annual race to get Beaujolais Nouveau to the wine bars of Paris and London distracted attention from the quality of the wine. It also drove down prices as merchant vied with merchan
t to offer not only the first Beaujolais but also the cheapest.

  But putting all that to one side, we are left with a number of producers who make lovely wines. Many of the best are from the ten villages or ‘cru’ of Beaujolais: Fleurie, Morgon, Juliénas, Moulin à Vent, Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, St Amour, Régnié, Chiroubles and Chénas. The wines vary from village to village and producer to producer. Some are more full-bodied, some lighter and more fruity. Some age well, others should be drunk young. The lightest wines are overpowered by St Marcellin. The most robust wines, like Chénas, can lack the delightful happy fruit so typical of the Beaujolais region. For matching with St Marcellin, one of my favourites is Juliénas, which often seems to me to have just the right balance between youthful fruit and a structure to partner cheese. I recently tried Juliénas Les Paquelets 2003 from Domaine Matray and it proved just right with the St Marcellin from Etoile de Vercors.

  At their vineyard in the delightful village of Juliénas, Lilian Matray and his wife, Sandrine, represent the fifth generation to work the estate. They have just over six hectares in Juliénas plus five hectares in the Saint Amour and Beaujolais Villages appellations. Here they tend the Gamay vines which give the typically fruity and easy-drinking style of wine for which Beaujolais is world famous. It is thought that vines have been cultivated here since the time of Julius Caesar, after whom, perhaps, the vineyard is named. With a south, south-east aspect, Lilian Martray’s vines are perfectly placed to ripen beautifully. He generally harvests in mid September but 2003 was the earliest harvest for over 100 years. Lilian insists that all the grapes are picked by hand so as to be better able to sort the grapes and discard any poor ones; something not achieved with a picking machine.