Valençay is one of the most famous cheeses from the Loire valley. A goat’s cheese shaped like a truncated pyramid the story goes that Napoleon stopped in Valençay following his disastrous defeat in Egypt. Seeing the cheese, it’s shape brought back terrible memories and he cut the top off the cheese with his sword. Its shape remains the same to this day, a pyramid with the top sliced off!
Valençay is an AOP (AOC since 1998) cheese which means that its production is tightly controlled and must follow a strict set of rules. It comes from the Indre department in the Loire valley from the town that bears its name. Made from unpasterised goat’s milk, Valençay has a blue grey rind that comes from a dusting of charcoal (a common practice with Loire valley goat’s cheeses). The texture is smooth and creamy and can become quite soft and runny close to the rind. It has a lovely fresh, milky lemony flavour with hints of hazlenuts.
Valençay is also an AOP for wine and unsurprisingly the wines from the region make fine partners for the cheese. Reds are primarily from Gamay, Pinot Noir and Malbec (Côt) and whites primarily from Sauvignon Blanc.
