I had been waiting for an excuse to open a couple of bottles I had been saving, François Chidaine’s Montlouis Blanc 'Les Tuffeaux’ and the Mas L'Erme Avanti, and an afternoon in the garden with old friends, an ample French cheese board and glorious sunshine seemed to be the perfect opportunity.

While we waited for the Beaufort to come up to temperature and watched the silky Saint Marcellen attempt to escape over the edge of the cheese board, we poured the L’Erme. Golden in the glass and alive on the nose, aromas of elderflower, green apple, hints of jasmine and fennel pierced through the fragrance of ripe cheese. 

The cheese was finally ready and we could wait no longer. I greedily unwrapped the chestnut leaf and raffia parcel to reveal an intensely pungent Banon à la feuille, we cut into the roll of herby Buchette de Manon and prevented the Saint Marcellen from oozing onto the table. The oily mouthfeel of the Mas L'Erme combined with a fresh acidity elevated both of the goats’ cheeses and the Saint Marcellen. With touches of grass on the palate leading to notes of papaya and mango, the wine was as rich as the golden colour suggested. L’Erme is an unusual blend of Bourboulenc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Vermentino ou Rolle and Viognier from Mont Baudile, Languedoc-Roussillon. I cannot wait to have another bottle and would have quite happily not shared any of it, but then I am an only child. 

It was time to progress onto the riper cheeses and something punchy to go with the nutty Beaufort, the Moliterno with truffle and the Blue Persille Du Beaujolais, we were ready for the big gun 'Les Tuffeaux’, a Chenin Blanc from Montlouis in Loire, what a wine. I had been lucky enough to try this last year and it was even better than I remembered, reminiscent of a Sauterne on the nose; ripe, almost baked apricot, rich caramel, white peach with undertones of lavender. The layers of flavour in the mouth seemed to keep on coming with each sip, even though we hadn’t seen each other for months, the conversation stopped while we swirled in the glass and around our mouths trying with all the different cheeses, silent but for little sighs of satisfaction. To accompany; homemade spicy rhubarb chutney and sweet onion jam cutting through some of the funkier cheeses. Les Tuffeaux did the same job, pairing especially well with the Blue and Beaufort. Leaning towards off-dry; rich and honey like on the palate with gooseberry and juicy white peach lavender and orange blossom remained on the long finish. No wonder Francois Chidaine is known as the Pope of Vouvray! 

We have some delicious French cheeses arriving this week including a nutty Beaufort, a fresh raw sheep’s milk cheese Castillon Frais, 1924 a Roquefort style cheese and Tomme de Savoie, another one of my favourites, needless to say I am rather excited! We are counting down the days until we can enjoy some delicious wine and cheese pairings with you all very soon but until then, why not buy one of our special cheese boxes - 4 carefully aged cheeses from the Alps and Pyrenees and aged in a Cave in the Loire valley, paired with Fourth and Church pickled pears and seasonal pickles! - its a perfect treat! Click here for more details.