Abbaye Notre-Dame de Cîteaux
Cistercian abbey where the monks make Cîteaux cheese from their own Montbéliarde herd, sold at the abbey shop. The abbey does not ship, so you buy it in person.
About Cîteaux
A pressed, uncooked-curd cheese with a washed rind, made by the Cistercian monks of Cîteaux Abbey from the thermised milk of their own Montbéliarde herd. It has been sold since 1925 at the abbey shop, which does not ship. A wheel weighs about 700 g. It has no protected name.
Made in: Made at Cîteaux Abbey, Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, Côte-d'Or
On the plate
Described by the abbey's tourism listing as fruity, with the taste of pasture. A pressed, uncooked cheese close to a small Reblochon, ripened for about three weeks in the abbey cellars.
Rind: washed, orange and sticky
Wine and cheese
What to pour with Cîteaux
Beaune and Volnay premier cru Pinot Noir Burgundy
Our pickCîteaux is a mild, fruity pressed cheese with a pasture taste. A Beaune or Volnay premier cru, medium-bodied with bright acidity and moderate tannin, lets the cheese stay in front.
Saint-Romain (white) Burgundy
Local traditionThe Burgundy wine board gives its top rating to a white Saint-Romain for the abbey cheese. Cîteaux is a mild, fruity pressed cheese with a pasture taste, so a fresh white leaves it in front.
Côte d'Or village Pinot Noir (Gevrey, Chambolle, Morey, Vosne, Pommard, Aloxe-Corton) Burgundy
Our pickCîteaux is a mild, fruity pressed cheese, close to a small Reblochon. A village Pinot Noir from the Côte d'Or, medium-bodied with bright acidity and moderate tannin, meets its supple paste without burying the pasture taste.
The grapes behind these winesPinot Noir
From the source
Where to buy and taste it
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 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.
Au Gas Normand
Stall in the Dijon Halles run by maître fromager Sophie Greenbaum since 1983, selling raw milk Normandy cheeses and aged summer Comtés beside other French and European cheeses. Open on Halles market days.
Cheese experiences nearby
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.
Vélo et Fromages cycle route
A 22 km easy ride along the Canal de Bourgogne with four cheese tastings at farms, including the Soumaintrain producers Lorne and Leclère, ending at Flogny-la-Chapelle.
Fête du Vin, du Pain et du Fromage à Époisses
Annual village fair in Époisses with about 60 exhibitors selling wine, bread, cheeses and local produce, with a petting farm and music, and a festive evening the next Saturday.
Cîteaux: questions
Who makes Cîteaux cheese?
The monks of Cîteaux Abbey, from the milk of their own herd of Montbéliarde cows.
Is the milk raw?
No. The abbey uses thermised milk.
Same cheeseboard
More cheeses from Burgundy
Plan the trip
Visit Cîteaux 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: www.bourgogne-tourisme.com, fr.wikipedia.org. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.