Essex Street / Fromagerie Marcel Petit - Comté aged 18+ months (France, priced per ounce)

Essex Street / Fromagerie Marcel Petit — Comté Aged 18+ Months — Jura, France

This is the most popular cheese at 67Wine — and it is not hard to understand why. Selected by Essex Street Cheese for flavor rather than age or price, this Comté comes from Fromagerie Marcel Petit, the legendary affineur whose caves at Fort Saint Antoine in the Jura mountains have been coaxing complexity from raw-milk wheels since the 1960s. Aged a minimum of 18 months in slow, cool maturation, it arrives at peak ripeness: a cheese of remarkable depth, balance, and character. Priced per ounce, pre-packaged at approximately 6oz.

The aroma is beguiling — roasted cashews, hazelnuts, sweet grass, and a whisper of fried onion, with undercurrents of cut grass, wet earth, and straw. On the palate it is herbaceous and fruity, with deep, luscious creaminess and a long, nutty finish that lingers. It pairs beautifully with a wide variety of red and white wines, and is the kind of cheese that anchors any board it appears on.

Martin Johnson, Cheesemonger — "Our most popular cheese, this French classic offers well balanced overtones of sweet grass and roasted cashews. It pairs nicely with a wide variety of red and white wines."

• Producer: Fromagerie Marcel Petit, Fort Saint Antoine, Jura, France
• Selected by: Essex Street Cheese
• Origin: Franche-Comté, France
• Milk: Raw cow’s milk (AOP)
• Aging: 18+ months, slow cool maturation
• Rind: Natural brushed rind
• Format: Pre-packaged, approx. 6oz | Priced per ounce
• Tasting Notes: Roasted cashews, hazelnuts, sweet grass, fried onion, cut grass, wet earth, creamy finish
• Ingredients: Raw cow’s milk, salt, cultures, animal rennet
• Allergens: Contains milk
• Best Paired With: Crusty baguette, dried fruits, walnuts, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Jura whites

The benchmark Comté — selected at peak ripeness by one of New York’s most respected cheesemongers, aged by the master of Fort Saint Antoine.