Cheese · PGI · Penedes
Also labelled Formatge Garrotxa
A semi-soft goat's milk cheese from The whole of Catalonia, the PGI area, the Penedès included; the cheese was revived in the early 1980s by goat farmers of the Garrotxa district (Girona).
A goat's milk cheese with a grey, fuzzy bloomy rind, registered as an EU PGI in December 2023 for the whole of Catalonia. The specification requires whole pasteurised goat's milk, mixed curdling, a rind mould that is never artificially inoculated, and at least 21 days of maturing, and sets two sizes, about 0.5 kg and 1 kg. It records that goat farmers of the Garrotxa district had specialist cheesemakers revive the recipe in the early 1980s; ACREFA names Sant Miquel de Campmajor and 1982. Cheesemakers trained at the Torre Marimon agricultural college then took it to dairies across Catalonia.
Made in: The whole of Catalonia, the PGI area, the Penedès included; the cheese was revived in the early 1980s by goat farmers of the Garrotxa district (Girona)
The EU specification describes a firm, smooth, off-white paste, aromas of medium intensity led by fresh goat's milk and butter, damp cellar notes from the rind and lactic notes in the mouth. ACREFA calls it mild and easy to eat.
Rind: white bloomy rind
Wine and cheese
Four years or more on the lees give these Xarel·lo-led Corpinnat Brut Nature wines a savoury, lees-rich depth that meets Garrotxa's buttery paste and damp-cellar rind, while high acidity and a fine bead refresh the goat's milk.
Dry white Corpinnat, aged 18 to 50 months on its lees, brings high acidity and a fine bead: the bubbles scrub Garrotxa's buttery paste from the palate and leave the mild, lactic goat's milk and its damp-cellar rind in front.
Garrotxa is mild, milky and buttery under its grey mould. Penedès Xarel·lo made without new oak brings fennel, citrus and a saline edge with high acidity, which cuts through the firm paste and leaves the fresh goat's milk in front.
Dry white Cava, high in acidity and with a fine bead, scrubs Garrotxa's buttery paste from the palate, while its fresh fruit sits easily beside the mild goat's milk and the damp-cellar notes of the grey rind.
Conca del Riu Anoia whites are bone dry, with high acidity and a saline, mineral edge after 18 months to seven years on the lees; the bubbles cut Garrotxa's buttery paste and the salt sets off the mild goat's milk.
Xarel·lo aged on its lees with some oak gains a creamy texture and yellow-apple fruit that meet Garrotxa's buttery paste, while the grape's high acidity and saline edge keep the goat's milk fresh and lift the grey rind.
Dry rosé Cava brings red-berry fruit, high acidity and a fine bead: the bubbles lift Garrotxa's firm, buttery paste and the berry fruit plays against the lactic tang of the goat's milk.
Penedès Chardonnay fermented and aged in French oak brings hazelnut and a creamy, lees-rich texture that meet Garrotxa's buttery paste, while lemon and high acidity keep the firm goat's cheese and its grey rind fresh.
The grapes behind these winesXarel-loMacabeoChardonnayPinot NoirParelladaXarel-lo Vermell
From the source
Affineur in a 19th-century cellar in Vilafranca. It selects artisan cheeses from other makers and ages them in vats that once held wine, rather than making cheese itself. Sells cheese selections and some wine online for delivery or pick-up at its workshop, and supplies restaurants and wine shops.
Ham and charcuterie shop in Vilafranca whose own site describes a range of Spanish and international cheeses, sold in its shops rather than online. Also in Sitges, Vilanova i la Geltrú and Santa Coloma de Gramenet.
Gourmet shop of a second-generation charcuterie family selling Iberian ham, cheeses and charcuterie, with tasting in the shop, a second shop in Sant Pere de Ribes, an online shop and catering.
A tour of the ageing workshop, a former wine storehouse of the 19th century with ceramic vats, then a meal of 20 cheeses with 5 wines at one of five tables. Weekends, usually at 13:00 or 20:00, in Catalan, up to 36 people; a non-alcoholic option is offered.
A Thursday after-work tasting of 4 wines with 12 Xerigots cheeses at the workshop, led in Catalan. Tasting only, with no visit to the ageing room.
Guided visit to the vineyard and cellar of a biodynamic estate at Can Llopart de les Alzines, then a commented pairing of five Catalan cheeses with its wines and Cavas, set up as a contrast pairing and a complementary one. Its own page lists Blanc de Sora, Puigpedrós, Lligat de cabra, Serrat and Blau ceretà. Monday to Saturday by prior booking, minimum two people; wheelchair accessible.
Guided winery visit with a pairing of 4 wines and 4 artisan cheeses. Saturdays in Catalan, Sundays and holidays in Spanish, both at 11:15. Ages 7 to 17 pay EUR 22 and get cheeses and grape juice; under 7 free, with grape juice.
Visits and cheese workshops at a small raw-milk dairy in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, Monday to Friday by prior reservation, according to its own site. ACREFA adds tastings and direct sale of its sheep's and cow's milk cheeses.
Guided visit with an audiovisual presentation, the Mas La Plana vineyard, a solar-electric train to the Waltraud cellar, ending with four wines each matched to an artisan cheese. Year round on weekends: Saturdays at 12:30 in Spanish, Sundays at 11:45 in Catalan.
A small cylinder with rounded edges under a grey to blue-grey, fuzzy mould rind, with an off-white paste. The PGI specification sets two sizes: about 0.5 kg and 10.5 cm across, or about 1 kg and 14.5 cm across. ACREFA calls the grey bloomy rind the indispensable feature of any Garrotxa.
Yes. Formatge Garrotxa / Queso Garrotxa has been an EU Protected Geographical Indication since 20 December 2023 (file PGI-ES-02876), and the protected area is the whole of Catalonia. The application was lodged on 14 November 2022.
Cheesemakers across Catalonia; the specification says cheesemakers trained in the 1980s spread it to dairies all over the region. None of the venues in this guide is confirmed as a Garrotxa maker, so none is linked.
Same cheeseboard
Plan the trip
Tastings and tours where it is made, and somewhere to stay.
Penedes Wine & Cava Tasting & 4WD Vineyards Tour from Barcelona
All 22 experiences in PenedesBooking 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, eur-lex.europa.eu, acrefa.cat. The drawing is made from the cheese's recorded shape, rind and paste, not a photograph.
