Cheese · Champagne
A soft, bloomy rind cow's milk cheese from Champagne, as heir to the cendré des Riceys of the Aube.
An unprotected ash-ripened disc of partly skimmed cow's milk. Supertoinette calls it the heir to the old cendré des Riceys of the Aube. After about three weeks in a humid cellar the cheese spends roughly a week under poplar or beech wood ash, then two to three weeks on a rack. It is about 11 cm across and 3 cm thick. French Wikipedia lists a related cendré d'Argonne.
Made in: Champagne, as heir to the cendré des Riceys of the Aube
A soft paste under a flowering, ash-covered rind. Supertoinette says the taste recalls Brie with an added small smoky note.
Rind: dusted with ash
Wine and cheese
Supertoinette says the ash-coated cheese tastes of Brie with a small smoky note. A rosé Champagne's red-berry fruit and fresh acidity meet that note and cut through the soft paste.
The grapes behind these winesPinot NoirChardonnay
From the source
Julien Pouillot is an affineur and cheesemonger with a stall in the Troyes market hall, selling about 400 references including Chaource fermier, which the shop ripens in its own ripening room. It also sells at the Écrevolles market in Pont-Sainte-Marie and at Fraich' in Barberey-Saint-Sulpice.
Cheese and wine shop at 28 rue de Mars in Reims, near the Boulingrin market hall. Its own site counts over 300 cheeses and takes orders for platters; a 2014 local guide noted new cheeses each week.
Reims covered market in a concrete hall of 1927 to 1929 with a 19.85 m vault, restored and reopened in 2012. The tourism office lists regular markets on Friday and Saturday; French Wikipedia also lists Wednesday. A 2014 local guide named three cheese counters; stalls change.
Near Reims cathedral, a 90-minute workshop with two champagnes, a glass of ratafia and three regional cheeses. Book at least 24 hours ahead; French, English or Russian, 2 to 20 guests.
Troyes market hall inaugurated in 1874, with eighteen cast-iron posts. It sells andouillette, cheeses and champagne among other local produce; Pouillot, an affineur, has a stall.
At Chaource, in the Aube, a free viewing gallery and film show Chaource AOP ladled by hand; there is no production at weekends. Groups of 20 or more can book a guided visit with tasting.
At Vaux-sous-Aubigny, Haute-Marne, a visit along the production stages of Langres and Époisses on Friday and Saturday late mornings by reservation. The cheese bar is shown as temporarily closed.
No. It has no AOP or AOC; it is a traditional type described by food references and by French Wikipedia's article on Champagne cuisine.
The cheese is ripened under a coat of wood ash, typically poplar or beech, after a first ageing in a humid cellar, per Supertoinette.
Same cheeseboard
Plan the trip
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
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Sources: fr.wikipedia.org, www.supertoinette.com. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.
