Saint Nectaire

Saint-Nectaire is a raw cow's milk AOP cheese from the volcanic high pastures of the Auvergne in central France, one of the oldest farmhouse cheeses in the country and a benchmark for the rustic semi-soft category. The wheels are aged on rye straw in cool cellars for at least eight weeks, where the natural rind takes on a mottled grey, white and tan coat that smells unmistakably of mushrooms and damp stone.

The paste is supple and ivory, giving just slightly under the knife with a smooth break and a faint chalk through the center on younger wheels that fades to a buttery cream line as the cheese ripens. On the palate it leads with fresh cream and salted butter, then pulls into cellar mushroom, wet hay and a quiet hazelnut underneath. The finish is mid-length and clean, holding onto the earthy note for a beat before fading.

This is the cheese that built the Auvergne's reputation, and a fresh wheel in good condition is what every other semi-soft natural-rind from the region is measured against.