Rodolphe Le Meunier Pepino (80g)

Pepino is a small pasteurized goat's milk cheese from Rodolphe Le Meunier, the celebrated affineur out of the Loire Valley in France. Le Meunier is one of the most decorated maturation houses in the country, and these little 80g pucks show off what he does best, taking a young chèvre and giving it just enough age to develop a thin, downy bloomy rind without losing the freshness of the milk.

The paste is soft and lactic, a little chalky right at the core when young, slowly softening into something smoother and creamier as it ripens from the outside in. Bright, citrusy goat's milk tang up front, with a gentle mushroomy lift coming off the bloomy rind. The finish is clean and short, leaving a soft cultured-cream sweetness behind. None of the barnyard punch you sometimes get from older goat cheeses, this one stays elegant and delicate the whole way through.

At 80 grams, it's a single-serving format, the kind of cheese meant to be eaten in one sitting at room temperature with a piece of fruit and a glass of something dry and white. Just because it's mild doesn't mean it's not flavorful.