France’s best-loved cheese, and the easiest way into the world of mountain cheeses.
Where it comes from
Comté is made in the Jura mountains of eastern France, along the Swiss border. It uses raw cow’s milk from just two breeds, the Montbéliarde and the French Simmental. Every cow has grass in summer and hay in winter. Silage is not allowed.
The milk goes to small village dairies called fruitières, about 160 of them. It takes roughly 500 litres of milk to make one wheel. A finished wheel is huge: up to 70 cm across and around 40 kg.
Comté has been a protected name since 1958, one of the first French cheeses to earn it. It must age for at least four months. Many wheels stay much longer, from one year to three.
How it tastes
Young Comté, around six to eight months, is supple and mild. Think fresh butter, warm milk and hazelnut.
With age it changes completely. At 18 months and beyond, it turns firmer and deeper. Brown butter, roasted nuts, caramel and broth appear. You may feel tiny crunchy crystals. They are clusters of protein, a sign of a well-aged cheese, not salt.
Wheels from summer milk taste of flowers and grass. Winter wheels are rounder and more buttery. Same cheese, two seasons.
How to buy and serve it
- Ask how old it is. A good cheesemonger will know the month, and often the dairy.
- Buy a piece cut from the wheel, not pre-packed slices. It keeps its moisture.
- The paste should be ivory to pale yellow, with no cracks.
- Take it out of the fridge an hour before serving. Cold Comté tastes of almost nothing.
- The rind is edible but hard. Most people cut it off.
The pairing
The local answer is a Jura white. The Jura grows Chardonnay and its own grape, Savagnin. Many of these wines are aged under a thin veil of yeast, which gives them a nutty, savoury taste. That nuttiness meets Comté head on. The famous vin jaune, aged for more than six years, is the classic partner for an old Comté.
There is no Jura wine on our list yet, so here is what to pour instead:
- For aged Comté (18 months+): Niepoort 10 Years Old Tawny Port. Its caramel and walnut notes mirror the cheese, and the touch of sweetness flatters the salt.
- For young Comté: a crisp Chardonnay, like an unoaked Chablis, or a Savoie white.
- Close to home: a dry Luxembourg Moselle Pinot Gris. Rich enough for the cheese, fresh enough for a second piece.
Also try it with
- Walnut bread or a plain sourdough.
- A few walnuts or toasted hazelnuts.
- Thin slices of apple or pear.
- Grated over a gratin, or melted in a croque-monsieur.
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More cheeses in the series → · See all twenty bottles →
Photo: Snufkin7, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Please drink responsibly. L’abus d’alcool est dangereux pour la santé, à consommer avec modération.