Herve Mons Le Chartreux Review

As I explore the cheese world more, I'm finding how much goes on behind the scenes in order to produce the perfect piece of fromage. Much like bean-to-bar chocolates, chefs and other food producers are aiming to learn more about the origins of the ingredients. The farm-to-table concept is spreading, and this is good news for small farms in remote areas hit hard by the unstable economy. Fair trade isn't just for chocolate farmers. The ingredients for making cheese and how they are sourced and handled including where the milk is produced, the diet of the milking animals, what kind of rennet is used and where and how the cheese is aged will affect the end result.

Herve Mons is a renowned master affineur from France. This little interview is worth watching:

Cheese undergoes two big transformations before it reaches its final destination. The first is when the milk is made into curds, and the second is the when the curds are made into the actual cheese. The first step is usually done by the cheese makers. Rennet or some kind of coagulant is used to separate the curds from the whey. The type of rennet used is important, because harder cheeses require more whey to be extracted from the curds.

Once the cheese is made, it is passed to an affineur who is responsible for overseeing the aging process.

Where and how the cheese is ripened and the atmosphere of the cellar or cave is important. The air, temperature and humidity must be monitored carefully in order to bring out the best in a maturing cheese. Straw, bricks, stones, wood and soil can be used to alter the environment and affect the aging process.

Herve Mons cheeses aging on shelves. 

Now that I have a little bit of the cheese-making process out of the way, I can dive into my first review.

Le Chartreux 

This find was an unexpected, pleasant surprise. I was simply browsing the wondrous cheese selection at Whole Foods when my eyes suddenly landed on a cute little title card that read: Le Chartreux. My heart soared. Could this little gem be made in the Chartreuse region? I wondered. Immediately I asked the very kind lady at the counter for a small slice, which she wrapped nicely and handed me. At close to $30.00 a pound, a small slice is all I could afford.

Monastère de la Grande Chartreuse

When I got home, I did some research and found that there isn't a ton of information available on this cheese. There is also some incorrect information floating around out there. For example, one blogger claimed that the rind is washed in the Chartreuse liquor that's famous in that area. It's not. The wash is a regular bacteria wash. I was able to verify that. Another blogger tried to compare the delicate fromage to Parmesan when they are worlds apart.

Herve Mons Le Chartreux

Le Chartreux

Le Chartreux cheese is, indeed, made in the French Alps, near Grenoble. The specific area is called Vallée des Entremonts. I have a soft spot in my heart for this region, as I traveled there with my mom many years ago, and we had a wonderful time. We also hit the jackpot with the weather, arriving on a beautifully sunny day after nearly two months of rain. That's what one of the locals told us when I mentioned that I thought I could live there. It was sunny and mild and outrageously gorgeous: green, lush and full of glorious pastures. Chartreuse is where the monastery is located. It's also where the green and yellow Chartreuse liquors are made using 130 herbs, plants and flowers grown in the region.

Back to the cheese!

Le Chartreux is a semi-soft cheese made with raw cow's milk. If you have tried Morbier, which is made just North of Chartreuse in the Franche-Comte region, you will detect similar flavor notes in this cheese, but Le Chartreux is milder and more refined. It's definitely not as harsh as Morbier. If Morbier were a quarter horse, Le Chartreux would be a thoroughbred.

The aroma is pleasant, not too stinky, but this is a great cheese if you want to slowly introduce someone to the stinky cheese world. It's inviting and won't offend anyone, even though the aroma verges on being strong.

The flavor is outstanding. It's buttery, very slightly sweet, tangy and nutty with notes of hay. If golden were a flavor, this would be it.

The texture is creamy and smooth, less chewy than Morbier and much more even, too. The mouth feel is extraordinary, and it lingers, allowing the flavor to develop on the palate. This cheese is one that will make you dream of being in France. I can almost feel the sun warming my face as I imagine myself transported back to those lovely mountain towns that border Switzerland.

*****

Where's the first place you would go if you had the chance to revisit a place you have traveled to in the past?