Alain very generously gave me a present of cheeses and a bottle of Roussette de Savoie from the region to bring home. I am proud (and relieved) to report that the cheeses survived two train journeys and two flights including a long haul of 12 hours. Last night's dinner was a great occasion to spread the love of cheese with our gourmet friends.
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| Thank you Alain for the lovely present! |
I know very little about the Savoyard viticultural region. The region covers 2,200 hectares of vineyards, and is made up of 3 appellations and 20 crus. The three appellations are: Savoie, Roussette de Savoie and Seyssel. Within each appellation, delimited areas with recognised characters have been designated "crus" and they are, with their permitted varieties in brackets:
AOC Seyssel: Seyssel (Altesse)
AOC Roussette de Savoie: Frangy, Marestel, Monthoux, Monterminod (all crus based on Altesse)
AOC Savoie: Ripaille (Chasselas), Marin (Chasselas), Marignan (Chasselas), Crépy (Chasselas), Ayze (Gringet), Chautagne (Gamay), Jongieux (Gamay and Jacquère), St Jean de la Porte (Mondeuse), St Jeoire Prieuré (Jacquère), Chignin (Jacquère), Chignin Bergeron (Roussanne), Cruet (Jacquère), Arbin (Mondeuse), Montmélian, Apremont (Jacquère), Les Abymes (Jacquère)
The wine we had was 2015 Roussette de Savoie, Domaine Louis Magnin. The domaine has been certified organic since 2012. They believe in minimal intervention, hence no summer pruning nor green harvest. The Altesse grapes come from two parcels planted in the Arbin commune, one parcel around 40 years and the other around 15 years. The training method is Cordon de Royat, and the pruning method is single Guyot. Vinification including malolactic fermentation partially in 500-litre barrels and the rest in stainless steel vats. During the 11-month ageing on fine lees, some batonnage is practised. This wine is a small production for the domaine, which focuses more on Mondeuse (55% of plantings) and Roussanne (30% of plantings).
How did it taste? The wine has a pale golden robe. An aromatic bouquet of almond, marzipan, citrus, honey, nougat, butterscotch, shortbread, with smokey and toast notes. Dry, fresh acidity, medium body with a mineral core. Smoky and nutty notes persist with the long aftertaste. Balanced, elegantly structured and complex. 17/20
There are some classic local wine-cheese pairings. For example, Chignin Bergeron is meant to give an excellent pairing with Beaufort, and likewise wood-aged Mondeuse with Tome des Bauges. They are definitely worth a try.
Alain's Savoyard cheese selection includes:
Reblochon de Savoie, Tomme d'Hérens, Le Florion des Moines, Beaufort Fermier Châlet d'Alpage and a Persillé de Chèvre
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| Clockwise from bottom left: Beaufort Chalet d'Alpage, Tomme d'Herens, Persille de Chevre, Le Florion des Moines, Reblochon de Savoie |
The non-cooked pressed cow's milk washed rind cheese Reblochon de Savoie is a firm favourite for its creamy richness, that coats the palate. The thin pale orange rind adds a savoury note to the taste and a firmness to the texture of the cheese. It is made with unpasteurised milk. The Le Michel version is selected by Alain Michel and is from a single farm (hence fermier, indicated by the green casein label on the rind).
Tomme d'Hérens is a Tomme made with the milk from a herd of the Hérens cows (horned mountain cows with short legs). The taste is very delicately fruity, with a slight lactic acidic aftertaste.
Le Florion des Moines is a cheese created between Alain's father Raymond Michel and a farmer at Col de La Forclaz in Talloires-Montmin. This cheese was created this year to celebrate the 1,000th year of existence of the Abbaye de Talloires which is now a hotel-restaurant. This non-cooked pressed cow's milk cheese is made with the unpasteurised milk of a herd of Abondance and Montbéliarde cows. Research into 17th Century archives resulted in a recipe for this special creation, which could be best described as in between a Tomme and a Tamié, another monastery cheese. Monsieur Michel contacted the farm at Col de La Forclaz to experiment this together. Together they took months to refine the recipe of production and affinage. The cheese is ripened for a total of 70 days, in the cave d'affinage of Alain Michel. The resultant cheese weighing about 1.3 kg has a thick orange rind with brown spots (thicker than the Reblochon rind) and an ivory coloured supple paste. For the aromas and flavours, there is a harmonious marriage of fruity notes with Alpine grassy and savoury notes, with a touch of animal nuance at the rind. It is rich and unctuous, but well-balanced and complex. A unique cheese made by a single farm and nurtured by a single affineur. A beautiful souvenir of my internship. (A tip for potential visitors. Col de La Forclaz is also where people come for paragliding. After some mountain hiking or paragliding, you will work up an appetite for the restaurant La Ferme's famous beignets de pomme de terre! During my visit to the farm, I also tasted a very refreshing local aperitif called rosé-pêche: a drop of sirop de pêche (peach syrup) in a glass of rosé! A bit like a Kir, I guess!)
Beaufort Fermier Châlet d'Alpage is a cooked pressed cheese. This is the cheese made by a single herd of a farm, at the summer châlet at 1,500 metres altitude. It tastes both floral and fruity, with the complexity from animal and roasted nutty notes. A wheel of Beaufort is about 40 kg and it has a distinct concave vertical edge. A true "Prince des Gruyères". Here Gruyères refers to the family of cooked pressed cheeses.
Finally, the Persillé de Chèvre, a beautifully matured Persillé, with a grainy texture paste and a thick rugged grey/brown rind. The paste tastes acidic lactic, with just the faintest caprine nuance under the refreshing citrus and sweet straw notes. A persistent mineral finish. Beautifully made and ripened.
And of course, we started with some saucisson Savoyard! This one is infused with génépi, a local alcohol.
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