Marcel Petite Comté AOP - 24 months

The cheese

Comté is made in the Jura mountains of eastern France from the raw milk of Montbéliarde and French Simmental cows, under AOP rules. Each day the milk goes to small village dairies called fruitières, where it is made into cheese in copper vats. Marcel Petite selects young wheels and matures them slowly in Fort Saint-Antoine, a former military fort high in the Jura, where the cool, damp galleries suit long ageing. This one has been aged for 24 months.

Tasting notes

Two years of ageing gives a firm, dense paste studded with crunchy protein crystals. The flavour is deep and long: toasted hazelnut, brown butter and caramel, with a savoury, brothy finish. It is fuller and more intense than our 12-month Comté.

How to enjoy

Serve it in thin slices or shards with dried figs, honey and walnut lavosh, or crisp apple. It is classic with a Savagnin, the grape of the Jura, and also suits Chardonnay or a Blanc de Blancs Champagne. Take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving. It keeps well wrapped in waxed paper, so a larger piece will last.