Québec Roquefort
Roquefort is the first food product to have benefited from a controlled designation of origin in France, in 1925. There's a lot of talk about the importance of going back to the terroir, to more traditional farming methods for new products, but we forget that classics have already been doing it for a long time. Roquefort, for example, is produced exclusively with the milk of sheep that go to the field and whose natural farrowing rhythm is respected, although this means that they cannot produce cheese for a few months each year. At some producers, Penicillium roqueforti - the yeast that gives the cheese its pretty bluish streaks - is obtained from the mould of rye breads baked specifically for the occasion, placed in the maturing cellar with the cheeses for two to three weeks. During the holiday season, some cheesemakers will find versions aged for up to nine months. The saltiness of Roquefort can be softened with a slice of quince paste or a slice of rye flour bread, toasted and lightly buttered; it will be served with a sweet wine, for example a perry of ice cream from Québec. We must not shy away from the great classics that are executed with such care.
This semi-soft blue-veined farmhouse cheese is made from thermized milk from the family farm's herd of Holstein and Jersey cows. Its natural rind is dotted with ochre spots and contains beautiful bluish furrows, sometimes even greenish, due to the presence of Penicillium Roquefort. With a balanced taste in salt and a slight note of hazelnut, this strong blue cheese from the terroir will attract you with its particular character and conquer you with the delicacy it offers to the whims of your palate.
Roquefort is one of the greatest cheeses of France, made from full-fat, unpasteurized sheep's milk. It has blue veins dispersed throughout its body, developed from the spores of Penicillium roqueforti before the cheese is pressed. It is so tasty and loved that it was a favorite of Emperor Charlemagne, and it is locally called the 'cheese of kings and popes'. Roquefort has a moist rind on the exterior, while on the inside it is crumbly in texture and creamy, tangy, intense, complex, sharp, and salty in terms of flavor, with a white paste marbled with blue mold. It must mature for at least 5 months in caves in the south of France. While high in fat and salt content, it is also health-beneficial, as it is proved that it has unique anti-inflammatory properties. Roquefort pairs extremely well with figs, nuts, sweet white and powerful red wines. It is also often used in salads.
Sauternes is a French sweet wine from the region of the same name in the Graves section in Bordeaux. Sauternes wine is made from Sémillon, sauvignon blanc, and muscadelle grapes that have been affected by Botrytis cinerea, also known as noble rot. This causes the grapes to become partially raisined, resulting in concentrated and distinctively flavored wines. Due to its climate, Sauternes is one of the few wine regions where infection with noble rot is a frequent occurrence. Even so, production is a hit-or-miss proposition, with widely varying harvests from vintage to vintage. Wines from Sauternes, especially the Premier Cru Supérieur estate Château d'Yquem, can be very expensive, largely due to the very high cost of production. Barsac lies within Sauternes and is entitled to use either name. Somewhat similar but less expensive and typically less-distinguished wines are produced in the neighboring regions of Monbazillac, Cérons, Loupiac and Cadillac. In the United States, there is a semi-generic label for sweet white dessert wines known as sauterne without the "s" at the end and uncapitalized.
While wine lovers, collectors, chateau owners, winemakers, and others can enjoy arguing which is the best wine of a specific appellation, there is only one wine in the world that is the undisputed best wine in the region. We’re not just talking about Bordeaux, we’re talking about any of the world’s wine-producing regions. That unique honor goes to Chateau d’Yquem. Chateau d’Yquem is the only wine that almost everyone, everywhere agrees stands heads and shoulders above every other wine in the appellation. This becomes even more apparent when you’re at Chateau d’Yquem. Located on the top of a hill, you really feel like you’re in a different world that looks down on the rest of Bordeaux.
NOTES
The 1988 Yquem is a vintage that I have drunk with enormous pleasure on numerous occasions. This last bottle was the perfect ending to a horizontal of 1988 Roumier wines at Noizé. It was a late harvest that lasted until All Saints Day (1 November). A total of 6 tries were necessary through the vineyard, each gifting plenty of botrytised fruit. Deep amber in hue, it offers wonderful aromas of mandarin, orange blossom, wax resin and a light adhesive scent. I was actually quite taken aback but the splendid delineation and life-affirming vitality of this example, hints of crème brûlée interwoven through the honeyed fruit, Clementine and hints of caramelised pear. It fans out wonderfully on the finish. Without doubt, this was the best bottle of 1988 Yquem that I have encountered. There's little doubt that 1988 will go down as one of the great vintages of one of the finest dessert wines on earth. The lifespan is as shocking as the wine itself. There's an abundance of stories of Yquems that have seen their 100th birthday.
Ratings: 96 (Wine Advocate), 94 (Wine Spectator)
Roquefort is the first food product to have benefited from a controlled designation of origin in France, in 1925. There's a lot of talk about the importance of going back to the terroir, to more traditional farming methods for new products, but we forget that classics have already been doing it for a long time. Roquefort, for example, is produced exclusively with the milk of sheep that go to the field and whose natural farrowing rhythm is respected, although this means that they cannot produce cheese for a few months each year. At some producers, Penicillium roqueforti - the yeast that gives the cheese its pretty bluish streaks - is obtained from the mould of rye breads baked specifically for the occasion, placed in the maturing cellar with the cheeses for two to three weeks. During the holiday season, some cheesemakers will find versions aged for up to nine months. The saltiness of Roquefort can be softened with a slice of quince paste or a slice of rye flour bread, toasted and lightly buttered; it will be served with a sweet wine, for example a perry of ice cream from Québec. We must not shy away from the great classics that are executed with such care.
This semi-soft blue-veined farmhouse cheese is made from thermized milk from the family farm's herd of Holstein and Jersey cows. Its natural rind is dotted with ochre spots and contains beautiful bluish furrows, sometimes even greenish, due to the presence of Penicillium Roquefort. With a balanced taste in salt and a slight note of hazelnut, this strong blue cheese from the terroir will attract you with its particular character and conquer you with the delicacy it offers to the whims of your palate.
Roquefort is one of the greatest cheeses of France, made from full-fat, unpasteurized sheep's milk. It has blue veins dispersed throughout its body, developed from the spores of Penicillium roqueforti before the cheese is pressed. It is so tasty and loved that it was a favorite of Emperor Charlemagne, and it is locally called the 'cheese of kings and popes'. Roquefort has a moist rind on the exterior, while on the inside it is crumbly in texture and creamy, tangy, intense, complex, sharp, and salty in terms of flavor, with a white paste marbled with blue mold. It must mature for at least 5 months in caves in the south of France. While high in fat and salt content, it is also health-beneficial, as it is proved that it has unique anti-inflammatory properties. Roquefort pairs extremely well with figs, nuts, sweet white and powerful red wines. It is also often used in salads.
Sauternes is a French sweet wine from the region of the same name in the Graves section in Bordeaux. Sauternes wine is made from Sémillon, sauvignon blanc, and muscadelle grapes that have been affected by Botrytis cinerea, also known as noble rot. This causes the grapes to become partially raisined, resulting in concentrated and distinctively flavored wines. Due to its climate, Sauternes is one of the few wine regions where infection with noble rot is a frequent occurrence. Even so, production is a hit-or-miss proposition, with widely varying harvests from vintage to vintage. Wines from Sauternes, especially the Premier Cru Supérieur estate Château d'Yquem, can be very expensive, largely due to the very high cost of production. Barsac lies within Sauternes and is entitled to use either name. Somewhat similar but less expensive and typically less-distinguished wines are produced in the neighboring regions of Monbazillac, Cérons, Loupiac and Cadillac. In the United States, there is a semi-generic label for sweet white dessert wines known as sauterne without the "s" at the end and uncapitalized.
While wine lovers, collectors, chateau owners, winemakers, and others can enjoy arguing which is the best wine of a specific appellation, there is only one wine in the world that is the undisputed best wine in the region. We’re not just talking about Bordeaux, we’re talking about any of the world’s wine-producing regions. That unique honor goes to Chateau d’Yquem. Chateau d’Yquem is the only wine that almost everyone, everywhere agrees stands heads and shoulders above every other wine in the appellation. This becomes even more apparent when you’re at Chateau d’Yquem. Located on the top of a hill, you really feel like you’re in a different world that looks down on the rest of Bordeaux.
NOTES
The 1988 Yquem is a vintage that I have drunk with enormous pleasure on numerous occasions. This last bottle was the perfect ending to a horizontal of 1988 Roumier wines at Noizé. It was a late harvest that lasted until All Saints Day (1 November). A total of 6 tries were necessary through the vineyard, each gifting plenty of botrytised fruit. Deep amber in hue, it offers wonderful aromas of mandarin, orange blossom, wax resin and a light adhesive scent. I was actually quite taken aback but the splendid delineation and life-affirming vitality of this example, hints of crème brûlée interwoven through the honeyed fruit, Clementine and hints of caramelised pear. It fans out wonderfully on the finish. Without doubt, this was the best bottle of 1988 Yquem that I have encountered. There's little doubt that 1988 will go down as one of the great vintages of one of the finest dessert wines on earth. The lifespan is as shocking as the wine itself. There's an abundance of stories of Yquems that have seen their 100th birthday.
Ratings: 96 (Wine Advocate), 94 (Wine Spectator)
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