Comté "36 Months", cow's milk, Jura, France, 0.5lB

Comté “36 Months” is an exceptionally mature expression of Comté AOP, the celebrated raw cow’s milk cheese of France’s Jura Massif. While many Comtés are released between roughly 8 and 18 months, select wheels with the structure and quality for extended aging can be matured considerably longer. A 36-month Comté is therefore a particularly concentrated and complex expression of the cheese. 

Comté is a raw-milk, cooked and pressed cheese made exclusively from milk produced by Montbéliarde and French Simmental cows within the AOP region. Around 400 liters of milk are needed to produce a single wheel weighing approximately 40 kg.  The cheese is traditionally made at small village dairies called fruitières, which collect milk from surrounding farms. After cheesemaking, the wheels pass to specialist affineurs, who oversee their maturation. Comté must be aged for at least four months, but individual wheels showing exceptional aging potential can remain in the cellar for years.

During affinage, the wheels rest on spruce boards and are regularly turned and rubbed with salt. Temperature, humidity, cellar microflora and the affineur's decisions all influence the final character of an individual wheel.

Recommended pairings: Jura wines, White or red burgundy, Champagne, Chenin Blanc - particularly Savennière