#20 - St Nectaire de Fermiere

We had to try this classic. This particular cheese, being a fermiere cheese, will have been produced on the farm where the milk was produced - not in a factory away over the hills, although we purchased it from Fromagerie Beillevaire at Challans market.

Smells like potatoes and brown mould (i.e. earthy!).  Thick brown rind but a semi-firm texture inside.  The mouldy/cave/earthy flavour on the rind permeates through the rest of the cheese - and we thought dominated the flavour too much for our personal liking.  There was a small amount of mechanical openness in the paste, which had a smooth mouth feel and was slightly squeeky on our teeth.  There was not much salt in the cheese, which may have contributed to our feeling that the flavour was not as balanced as we had hoped.

A St Nectaire de Fermiere