Fromagerie de Mussy
Dairy at Chaource that calls itself the last artisanal dairy in the Aube. Chaource AOP is hand-ladled on weekdays; the shop sells it with regional cheeses and wines.
About Chaource
A soft cow's milk cheese with a white bloomy rind, made on the Burgundy and Champagne border in the Aube and the Yonne. Its recognition as an appellation dates from 1970, and it has European protection as well. Le Guide du Fromage says farm women were already making it in the 14th century and that Marguerite of Burgundy, wife of Louis X, insisted on having it at her table. It comes in a small and a large format, the large one about 450 g.
Made in: Aube and Yonne departments (Troyes, Avallon and Sens arrondissements)
On the plate
Creamy paste that grows creamier under the rind as it ages. INAO lists cream, fresh mushroom and sometimes hazelnut; Le Guide du Fromage adds a delicately salted taste.
Rind: white bloomy rind
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Chaource
Brut Champagne Champagne
Our pickA non-vintage brut Champagne's high acidity and fine mousse cut through Chaource's salted, creamy paste and leave its mushroom and hazelnut clear. The cheese comes from the Aube, which also grows Champagne.
Chablis (Chardonnay) Burgundy
Our pickChaource is fine, creamy and lightly salted, with mushroom and cream. A light, racy village Chablis lifts that texture and gives each mouthful a clean finish.
Blanc de blancs Champagne (non-vintage and entry vintage) Champagne
Our pickChaource is salted, creamy and fine, with mushroom and hazelnut. A blanc de blancs, all Chardonnay, brings citrus or orchard fruit, high acidity and a fine mousse that refresh the paste and keep the hazelnut clear.
Non-dosé Champagne Champagne
Our pickWith no dosage, a zero-sugar Champagne has nothing to blur the mushroom and hazelnut of a young Chaource. Its high acidity and fine bubbles lift the salted, creamy paste.
Chablis Grand Cru Burgundy
Our pickChaource is creamy and delicately salted, with cream and fresh mushroom notes, and grows creamier as it ripens. A Chablis grand cru, full-bodied with high acidity, has the weight to match the paste and the acidity to clean it.
Prestige and single-vineyard Blanc de blancs Champagne Champagne
Our pickAn older, creamier Chaource has more depth, and a prestige or single-vineyard blanc de blancs, full-bodied with high acidity, matches it while keeping the mushroom and cream in focus.
Rosé Champagne Champagne
Our pickA rosé Champagne sets red-berry fruit and fresh acidity against Chaource's salted, lactic paste and hazelnut, and its bubbles keep the cream from weighing on the palate.
Village white from the Côte de Beaune (Meursault, Puligny, Chassagne) Burgundy
Our pickChaource is creamy and lightly salted, with mushroom and cream notes. A village white from Meursault, Puligny or Chassagne, full-bodied and oak-aged with high acidity, is round enough for the cream and fresh enough to clean it.
The grapes behind these winesChardonnayPinot Noir
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
Fromagerie Germain
Dairy at Vaux-sous-Aubigny, Haute-Marne, making Langres and Époisses; Chaource AOP is also in its range. A shop, a self-guided production corridor on Friday and Saturday mornings by reservation, and a cheese bar to confirm before visiting.
Fromagerie Lincet
Family cheesemaker since 1895, six generations on. Its Saligny shop sells its Époisses, Chaource and Soumaintrain alongside other cheeses and regional products.
Alain Hess, Maître Fromager
Cheese shop on place Carnot in Beaune with about 200 cheeses, wine and fine groceries. Alain Hess, maître fromager since 1997 and an affineur, created the Délice de Pommard.
Fromagerie Pouillot
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.
Fromagerie Porcheret
Founded in 1930 near the Dijon halles and renovated after Yann Lavigne took over in 2012. A glass trapdoor in the floor shows the vaulted ageing cellar below, and the counter holds more than 200 varieties of cheese.
Le Chalet Comtois
A Dijon cheese shop on rue Musette, founded in 1872 and under new owners since 2017. It stocks 250 to 300 cheeses, mostly from small producers, with Burgundy and Franche-Comté in the lead.
Cheese experiences nearby
Marché des Halles du Boulingrin
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.
Atelier Éveil des sens, champagnes et fromages
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.
Marché des Halles de Troyes
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.
Visit of the Fromagerie de Mussy
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.
Marché des Halles de Dijon
Dijon's covered market, where cheese stalls such as Au Gas Normand sell Burgundy and other French cheeses on market days.
Atelier vins et fromages de Bourgogne
About an hour in a Dijon wine shop tasting three Burgundy wines each paired with a Burgundy cheese, including an Aligoté with Délice de Bourgogne and mustard. Saturdays at noon from 10 October to 26 December 2026.
Chaource: questions
Is Chaource really a Burgundy cheese?
Its zone straddles two departments: the Aube, in Champagne, and the Yonne, in Burgundy. It is a cheese of the border country between the two.
How long must Chaource age?
A minimum of 14 days is noted; the guide to French cheese puts the peak tasting at four to five weeks.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Burgundy
Plan the trip
Visit Chaource country
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
Booking links go to our partners (GetYourGuide, Viator, Zen Hotels), who may pay us a commission. It never decides what we cover. Editorial standards.
Sources: protection register, fromage-chaource.fr, www.inao.gouv.fr. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.