Semi-soft Spanish blue wrapped in sycamore leaves with a peppery bite.
Valdeón IGP, a leaf-wrapped cow and goat's milk blue from the Picos de Europa in Spain. Bold, peppery, cave-aged. Order online.
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Valdeón is a blended cow's and goat's milk blue from the Picos de Europa in Castilla y León, Spain, with IGP protection tying the recipe to its mountain home.
The paste is semi-soft and a little fudgy, with blue veins running heavy through a pale ivory body. Wheels are pierced young so the Penicillium roqueforti can breathe through the cheese, then wrapped in sycamore leaves and tucked into the cool, humid caves of the region for a couple of months. On the palate it opens with a buttery, salt-forward entry, then the blue veining kicks in with a confident peppery bite that pulls back into a long, savory finish. More assertive than a Gorgonzola Dolce, less feral than a Cabrales, sitting right in the sweet spot for someone who wants a serious Spanish blue without going all the way to the deep end.
The leaf wrap is the giveaway on the counter and part of why this cheese is worth knowing, it keeps the paste moist and gives the rind that mottled, foraged look that says mountain cheese before you've even cut into it.
Semi-soft and a little fudgy, gives easily under the knife with a slightly crumbly edge where the blue veins run heaviest.
Bold and assertive Spanish blue, salt-forward with a confident bite, more aggressive than a Gorgonzola Dolce but stops short of Cabrales territory.
The peppery blue bite holds on the back of the palate for a good long while, with a salty pull that asks for a sip of something sweet.
Some buttery cow's milk richness underneath, but the blue and the salt dominate the milky notes.
A faint toasted note from the leaf wrap and the goat's milk component, but nuttiness isn't the headline here.
Cavy and a little forest-floor from the natural rind and leaf wrap, with that classic damp-cave character of the Picos de Europa.
A real piccante kick from the blue veining, peppery and sharp through the middle of the palate.
Natural rind
Wrapped in sycamore leaves rather than carrying a developed eating rind, the leaves are typically peeled away before slicing but lend a subtle vegetal note to the outer paste.
Valdeón stands on its own, but the right partners turn a wedge into a moment. Regional pairings first — they were built for each other.
The salt and piccante bite of Valdeón wants a sweet, fortified counterweight. PX or a tawny Port soften the front end and let the finish read through.
Spanish blues love quince and honey, the sweetness rounds off the salt and the fruit acidity cuts through the fudgy paste.
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Hand-cut to order the day it ships. Packed cold for overnight delivery.
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