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

La Fête du Fromage - Le Napoléon Commingeois

You'll have to forgive the effusive gushing that is about to follow...
after all, I have been deprived of French cheese for almost an entire month!

Le Napoléon Commingeois looks like your average ewe's milk cheese from the Pyrénées, but its rich, delectable flavor far surpasses any of the other cheeses from this region that I've tasted thus far. (Etorki and Ossau-Iraty for example)


I was so impatient to taste it that I quickly unwrapped the creamy colored wedge the minute I got home from the market and started taking photos. No food styling today! Then I cut off a small morsel and savored what is truly a little piece of heaven.

Le Napoléon Commingeois has a mild, tangy fragrance and a full-bodied, smooth and chewy texture. Its refined and well balanced flavor offers hints of rich butter, fruit and mountain grasses.
This exceptional tasting, fermier cheese is produced in the Comminges region of southern France. Only whole, unpasteurized ewe's milk is used, and it is aged for at least 10 months before it reaches the public.

In a word: divine.


An intensely flavored wine such as Jurançon sec or a white Anjou would pair well with Le Napoléon.



Don't Forget! March 15 is the monthly round-up of La Fête du Fromage International Cheese Tasting Event. Entries are already trickling in, so if you would like to join us, please have your entry to me by March 13.

Tell us why you chose this particular cheese. Tell us how it tasted. Tell us about its texture and aroma. Did you eat it on its own? Or with something? Did you drink anything special with your cheese? Would you recommend it or not? Is there something unusual or interesting about it?

• Photos are wonderful, but not necessary
• Entries must contain the words La Fête du Fromage and contain a link to Chez Loulou
• Posts should be written specifically for La Fête du Fromage and not entered in any other food blog event
• Please send the link to your post to louloufrance (at) gmail (dot) com with the words Fête du Fromage in the subject line

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La Fête du Fromage - Comté and Ossau-Iraty

They may look similar, but these two cheeses, Comté and Ossau-Iraty, produced on opposite sides of France, are quite different.



Comté, on the right, is one of France's most popular cheeses. After production in cooperatives, called fruitières, in the villages of the Franche-Comté region of eastern France, each cheese must pass strict quality tests before being allowed into the marketplace. It takes the daily production of 30 cows to make one 80 pound (35 kilo) wheel of Comté.

It's flavor is sweet and caramelized with a slightly nutty and salty tang, and it melts in your mouth. In the kitchen, this is an extremely versatile cheese. It is delicious cut into cubes and added to salads, eaten with fruit, melted in a sandwich or used to make fondue.
Really wonderful!
A glass of fruity Beaujolais or white Sancerre pair nicely with Comté.


Ossau-Iraty, on the left, is an unpasteurized ewe's milk cheese that is produced in two areas of the Pyrénées in southwestern France: Ossau Valley in the Béarn and the hills of Iraty in the Basque country. Historians maintain that this cheese has been produced for more than a thousand years.

It has a soft, supple texture with a mild, nutty flavor that we both loved. I wasn't expecting much from Ossau-Iraty, but it is scrumptious!
Savor a cold glass of Jurançon or a red Madiran with this cheese. Pin It