La Fête du Fromage - Brebize

One of the best things about eating my way through the cheeses of France (other than stating the obvious) is that I'm learning about French geography as well.

Not too far from here is the Tarn - a gorgeous region that is home to Albi, a red brick covered bustling market town, and the farm Les Paulinetoises, who have been producing fromage de brebis for over 20 years in the small village of Paulinet.

This unpasteurized, bloomy-rind fromage is very odoriferous.  It is packed with heady barnyard aromas that I appreciate, but might put some people off.  Its bark is worse that its bite though...Brebize is quite mild tasting and seriously delicious.

The flavors are a mix of mushrooms, sweet hay and salty earth and the texture is oozing, smooth and chewy.  I thought it was just perfect smeared on some pain complet and enjoyed with a glass of local rosé.

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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 - Brebis de Cocagne

Hold a morsel of this runny fromage de brebis up to your nose and breathe in the warm fragrance of earth and wild mushrooms. Place it on your tongue and savor its alluring, buttery flavor.

Brebis de Cocagne oozes charisma.
It also oozes all over the plate as soon as you cut into it.

Runny, gooey, delicious cheese. Perfect for spreading on bread.

There in no way that Brebis de Cocagne could be mistaken for anything other than sheep's milk cheese - it has that typical round, tangy, brebis character. Though the soft fragrance and texture masks a surprisingly gutsy, rich flavor.
I am smitten.

The region around Albi, in the Tarn is home to the producer of this unpasteurized fromage artisanal. A glass of dry white wine such as a dry Jurançon would be a nice match with Brebis de Cocagne.


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La Fête du Fromage - La Bouyguette

La Bouyguette is a slender, wrinkly, quenelle shaped goat's cheese from the stunning Tarn département of southern France. It is an artisanal cheese, produced on a small farm where a herd of 160 goats are allowed to feed on the sweet grass and flowers of the mountains north of Albi.

The cheese's unusual shape is formed by hand from the curds of unpasteurized goat's milk. It is then wrapped up in linen cloth with a a small branch of rosemary and allowed to mature for three weeks.
The rosemary subtly perfumes the cheese and the linen cloth gives the exterior of la Bouyguette a striking, furrowed texture.

This is another delicious chèvre. It has a sweet, grassy aroma and it's snowy-white interior has a silky smooth, velvety texture that melts in your mouth. The flavor was soft and slightly goaty, with hints of grassy meadows and rosemary.
I absolutely loved the creamy texture and soft, sweet flavor of this cheese.



The farm where it is produced, la Colline aux Chèvres, has a great website (in French) with descriptions of all of their cheeses and photos of some of the goats.

The rosemary and grassy flavors of la Bouyguette paired well with our local red Minervois wine.


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