August 19, 2009

La Fête du Fromage - La Rouelle de Brebis

This must be the most fragile cheese that I've ever come across.

See how crushed it looks? When I bought it, it was a perfect, unblemished, white halo. A short trip in my market basket to the car, followed by the drive home from Narbonne, produced this slightly crumpled version.

As soon as we cut into it, La Rouelle de Brebis immediately oozed all over the place and seeped down into the gaps between the straw. The only way to enjoy it was to either scoop it up with a spoon or to scrape the pools of cheese from the plate (and mat) with a knife and smear it onto some bread.

And let me tell you, not a single drop went to waste!


La Rouelle de Brebis is wonderful!
It is super ripe and medium-strong, has milky, salty and mushroom flavors, and a surprising spicy and peppery finish.

This exquisite fermier cheese is produced on a small farm near the village of Laparrouquial in the Tarn département. The flock of 600 sheep spend 8 to 9 months grazing in the lush pastures before coming home to spend the winter at the farm. Each meltingly soft Rouelle is handmade from unpasteurized ewe's milk.

Choosing wine to go with this one is tricky. We were drinking local rosé, which didn't pair well. I would try something from the area where the cheese is produced, such as Gaillac or Jurançon. Pin It

4 comments:

spacedlaw said...

There is a cheese like this also made in the Piemont area of Italy. Mmm.
Still too hot to eat cheese here.

Anonymous said...

I'll eat good cheese anytime. My mouth watered reading your post.

Barbra said...

I'll be looking for this one!

Jennifer said...

spacedlaw
Hope it has cooled off for you!
Maybe you could share the Piemont cheese with us at the next Fête du Fromage?

cottagesweet
That's great! I love inspiring people to enjoy more cheese.

Barbra
Please let me know what you think!