Jura, France: Marcel Petite ComtePrint this Page
There are many people and companies selling cheese in the United States today, but none have taken the time, traveled as far, or made the effort to reach the finest producers of cheese in the world that Formaggio Kitchen has made. Recently Ihsan and Robert returned from a trip to Jura, France, where they had gone to personally select the wheels of Comte that will be sold here and in our stores. This is no mean feat. In addition to the years spent developing an understanding of the nuances of fine cheeses, there are relationships to consider, and hundreds of cheeses to taste. At this stage of purchasing and negotiating, the French cheese monger begins to develope a profile of the potential customer. He might offer a taste of a lesser cheese, and wait for your comments, before offering another; or perhaps offer a sample of his personal favorite, one of the world's finest, and see if it is appreciated. On one hand, he may be trying to discover if the buyer has any understanding of fine cheese, but on the other, he's trying to qualify a customer and to pair them with the perfect cheese for their needs. After some years of this, an American buyer can establish a reputation as a lover of fine cheese and, if fortunate, find acceptance.
Each village in Jura has a number of dairy farms, and these farms are organized into cooperatives, called "fruitiers", where their milk is used to produce cheese. Each fruitier has a name, of course, but also a number, and these numbers are used to identify the producer of each wheel of Comte.
On each wheel is branded the fruitier number, the month, and the year of production. After the wheels of cheese are manufactured and branded, they are purchased by "affineurs" or cheese-agers, who then cellar the cheeses for a period of many months. Each affineur lives and dies by their reputation for finding and caring for the best cheeses available, and among the affineur elite, none stand as high as Marcel Petite.
In 1966, Marcel Petite reached an agreement with the local government in Jura to take possession of Fort Saint-Antoine, a fort built in 1879 as protection against a possible Prussian assault via Switzerland. The fort had seen some use during World War I and World War II, but was for the most part unchanged, and remained two simple, large munitions depots separated by a courtyard used for military exercise. After purchasing the fort, Mr. Petite had a roof built over the courtyard and then covered with eight meters of soil. When operations began, they had some 300 wheels of Comte on hand.
Today, Marcel Petite Affineur holds some 65,000 wheels of Comte at various stages of aging, produced by 13 high altitude fruitiers. The Comtes of Marcel Petite are unusual in many ways, but he is considered an innovator for his vision of aging cheeses for longer periods of time at lower temperatures through a painstaking attention to detail. Before Mr. Petite, the average age of a Comte was 12 months, maximum, because beyond that the cheese would begin to deteriorate on the cellar shelf. All that changed with Fort Saint-Antoine.
Claude, the lead cheese monger at Fort Saint-Antoine, heads a staff of five tasters, who spend each day sampling some 300 wheels of cheese to best determine how to proceed with each individual wheel. Upon tasting it may be decided to sell the wheel at twelve months, or to hold it for another month, or two, or longer. In this manner, they find the cheeses that can withstand extra long aging, and improve for it. This is what makes Marcel Petite's Comte's a Grand Fromage-standing among the very finest cheeses in the world, cheeses such as Farmhouse Cheddar and Parmigiano Reggiano.
Robert and Ihsan tasted many, many wheels while visiting, and selected three particular and very rare Comte's to bring to our customers, friends, and the many restaurants we service.
From Valoreille, fruitier 815, they chose the months of October and November of 2002. October, because the tastes were dense, with tones of smoke and onion; and November, because is was sweeter, with hints of chocolate and hazelnuts. Both are exceptional.
And from Saint-Antoine, fruitier 747, at the very base of Fort Saint-Antoine, they chose the older May of 2002, because it is huge, with flavors of tropical fruits, and a lingering sweetness.
These are arguably the finest Comtes being offered by anyone, anywhere. Don't miss them.