La Fête du Fromage - Camembert Brebis

"A camembert not made out of raw milk is like making love without sex."

Hear! Hear!
I read this line in an article about Camembert just this morning!

While this week's cheese is not an AOC Camembert from Normandy, it is a Camembert fermier, more specifically, a Camembert Brebis from the Corbières.
This is the third cheese I've tasted from the dynamic duo, Chantal and Jean-Gabriel Donnet, the owners of the sole sheep farm in the Corbières. In January we tasted their luscious Brebis des Corbières and in early April we tasted their elegant Tomette des Corbières.

Mme. Donnet was at the market in Carcassonne last week, so I had the honor of meeting and chatting with the friendly Fromagère, in addition to tasting several more of her cheeses.
She was very kind, patient with my questions, and when I told her about my Fête du Fromage project, she seemed pleased that she'd been included.


Mme. Chantal Donnet slicing a piece of Tomme de Brebis for me to taste



Now, on to the cheese....



Another sublime discovery! The unpasteurized Camembert Brebis had a well balanced, earthy and mushroomy, mildly strong flavor that was both tangy and slightly salty. The aroma was sweet, grassy and soft and the texture was pure Camembert-creamy.

It was the best Camembert we've tasted in a long time. (and after the recently tasted, locally made Camembert Fermier, I never expected to find myself saying that)

Local, Minervois red wine was a perfect match as would wine from the Corbières.


The article also states that a recent census discovered that there are more than 1000 cheeses being produced in France. If that is true, I've got my work cut out for me!