Featured Cheese - June 2024

Most Pecorinos are oily cheeses because sheep’s milk contains very high amounts of butterfat… one of the reasons this cheese is so delicious. So when Pecorino comes to room temperature don’t be surprised if you see beads of oil on the cheese, these are “butterfat tears” that weep naturally from the cheese, and they indicate that it’s the perfect temperature for eating. Pecorino is usually eaten as a table cheese but will occasionally be shaved on top of fresh beans (perfect for summer salads) or lightly sautéed greens. Try it instead of Parmigiano on your next bowl of pasta. Its flavor is dense and the peppercorn sensation will bring new dynamics to your next meal. This selection should be served with a full-bodied red wine.

This unique variety of cheese has a very distinct taste. Its aroma is strong and is reminiscent of the fragrance of yeast and dried fruit. Occasionally one can even distinguish a note of boiled chestnuts. To the touch, it is slightly elastic when it's relatively young and harder when fully matured. The dark shades of yellow straw that distinguish this variety can at times reach the intensity of amber. The sweet taste can acquire a somewhat more savory flavor and ranges to slightly piquant. The rich aroma becomes refined with seasoning and has a hint of dried fruit, butter and sometimes, exotic fruits.

Sbrinz is considered by many to be the oldest cheese in Europe, and the recipe has been preserved for centuries. The addition of the word “Alpage” signifies a Sbrinz made at a very high altitude in the Alps where cows are transported to graze on the summer’s flowery, grassy pastures, and only the summer’s milk is used to make cheese designated as Alpage. While Sbrinz is typically aged 18 months prior to release, the version we've selected is not released until it reaches 36 months of aging, resulting in a complex, full-flavored, and extra-hard cheese.

Grafton’s flagship Clothbound Cheddar is a sharp, firm and flaky, yet creamy cheese made in the centuries-old British and pre-industrialized United States traditions, which means it is wrapped in cheesecloth, then cave-aged for six to nine months, yielding more robust and layered flavors than modern, plastic-aged cheeses. On the nose, it shows notes of butter, citrus, and an aroma resembling the cave in which it was aged. Its biscuit-crumbly and buttery mouthfeel is replete with savory umami flavors, nuttiness, and a hint of sweetness.

Members of the Aguilar family, the affineurs of the award-winning Montealva, have been making cheese for over 50 years with milk from a herd of Payoya goats, a rare breed native only to the Sierra de Cádiz mountains, and hearty enough to thrive in this challenging environment. The goats graze in limestone-rich mountain pastures, whose terroir reveals itself in the bright, grassy, and herbal notes of this dreamy, semi-firm, pasteurized cheese.