Chirac with Cheese

Sometimes we just want wine and cheese. These are the results of our tastings of a few beautiful cheeses of the world and the impressive local Second Mouse "Frieda".

Serve with our mature and generous 2010 Chirac

The following cheeses were bought from Orange Essential Ingredient and Agrestic Grocer. I prefer harder cheeses thinly sliced with our chilled Chirac. Quality unsweetened bread works better than biscuits which are often sweetened.

No 1 BEST MATCH

Cashel Cheddar

Cashel is a lovely Irish cheese, balanced all round. Not too salty, relatively firm and moist with that cheesy lactic and slightly acidic finish that harmonises easily with the freshness of the Chirac. This cheese allows the bubbles to shine by gently supporting the wine's flavours.

No 2

Comte

French cheese from the alpine areas bordering Switzerland. Similar in texture to Gruyere but a touch richer with an interplay between sweet and salt. Another lovely alpine cheese that also just underplays the complexity of this recently disgorged 150 month aged complex Chirac.

No 3

Grana Padano

(grating Parmesan- Italian cheese)

Any older e.g. at 3 years of age, a mature Parmigiana is too strong for our Chirac. But this Grana Padano, if you break it with a fork along its salt lines, those bursts of salt echo the bubbles in the Chirac. (Buon Ricordo ex chef Armando Percuoco taught me not to cut Parmesan with a knife.) The two flavours are strong and confront each other head on. They oscillate from one to the other and back again.

No 4

2nd Mouse cheese "Frieda" washed rind (Orange local)

A riper "Freida" works well with the Chirac because the acidity and bubbles in the wine helped cut through the thick complex ooze of the Frieda and together they created a fabulously rich combination and mouthfeel.