The local cheeses of Priorat with the local wines that suit them, and why they work.
The cheeses of Priorat with the wines made beside them. Pairings marked as a local tradition are the ones a regional source names; the rest are our own picks, and say so.
ACREFA says mató is usually eaten with honey, jam, nuts or a sweet liqueur. A sweet late-harvest Garnacha from Falset with dried-fruit richness stands in for the honey: the cheese stays milky, the wine brings the sweetness.
Bottles to try:
ACREFA describes mató as clearly white, with a delicate taste recalling milk. These dry whites are fermented in steel with little or no oak and carry high or medium acidity, so they freshen the cheese without covering it.
Bottles to try:
ACREFA lists a sweet liqueur or spirit among mató's usual partners. An off-dry Garnacha vi ranci, aged oxidatively in small oak casks, brings a nutty rancio note and a touch of sweetness to the cheese's plain milk.
Bottles to try:
ACREFA describes mató as clearly white, with a delicate taste recalling milk. These light, dry Montsant whites are fermented in steel without oak and have high acidity, a clean lift for a fresh, unsalted cheese.
Bottles to try:
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A fresh Catalan cheese made with whole milk, heated hard and eaten within days. Catalan Wikipedia says it is white or yellowish white and bright, with a granular or gelled texture, and a milky, mild taste.
ACREFA says it is usually eaten as a dessert or between meals, with honey, sugar, jam, sweet fruit or nuts, or with a sweet liqueur or spirit to bring out its sweetness. Catalan Wikipedia calls mel i mató a simple Catalan dessert of a slice of cheese with honey.
Not yet. Catalan Wikipedia says the Catalan agriculture department and the mató makers' association are promoting a Protected Geographical Indication for it.
The Priorat tourist board says the Pizarro family's dairy in Cornudella de Montsant has made fresh cow's cheese and mató since 1996. Formatgeria Linens of Bellmunt del Priorat lists a mató of pasteurised organic goat's milk, in 250 g tubs, in its online shop.
