Best Burgundian Soft Cheese Types
Also known as Vacherin du Haut-Doubs, Mont d'Or is a soft cheese made from raw cow's milk in the Haut-Doubs region in France. What's unique about Mont d'Or's visual appearance is that it is encircled by spruce bark strips and packaged in a spruce wooden box that keeps the cheese in place.
It has a full, rich, sweet and grassy flavor and a slightly acidic taste. Its rind is not edible like in most other French cheeses, so it has to be removed to get to the creamy, runny, almost liquid inside, when fully ripe. As the cheese is already almost melting, it can be eaten like a fondue and enjoyed with sparkling wines.
THE BEST Mont d'Or Cheeses
Délice de Bourgogne is a French triple crème cheese originating from the region of Burgundy, hence the name. The cheese is made from cow’s milk and butterfat, and it has a fat content of 75%. Its texture is smooth and creamy, while the flavors are tangy, tart, salty, buttery, and mushroomy.
The rind is white, bloomy, and quite pungent. It is recommended to serve the cheese on its own or pair it with ciders and white wines.
Pair with
Époisses is a soft cheese made from cow's milk with a glossy rind, and a pale beige, creamy, slightly salty body. It must mature for at least 4 weeks before it is ready for consumption when its salty, spicy, and sweet flavors, and an intense, pungent aroma fully develop.
The cheese is so smelly that it's been banned on public transport in France, according to the BBC. Its natural, brick red glossy rind develops during the maturation process as it gets washed with water containing Marc de Bourgogne (an aged brandy from Burgundy). Époisses is sold in a wooden box in order to ease the transport and prevent the cheese from spilling out.
Pair with
THE BEST Époisses Cheeses
Cancoillotte is a French cheese originating from the region of Franche-Comté. It is believed that this cow’s milk cheese with a thick and creamy texture first appeared more than 2,000 years ago in a region that was then called Séquanie – known nowadays as Haute-Saône.
Originally, the cheese was called fromage fondu (melted cheese) and fromage de femme (housewife’s cheese). The flavor of cancoillotte can best be described as acidic and buttery, with a strong fermented odor. It is recommended to heat it up with butter, wine, and garlic, then pour the combination over vegetables, cold cuts, or potatoes.
THE BEST Cancoillotte Cheeses
Bresse Bleu is a French cheese made with pasteurized cow's milk. This blue cheese hides a soft and creamy texture underneath its bloomy white rind. The aroma is fresh and mushroomy, while the flavor is buttery and very rich. During the production of Bresse Bleu, Penicillium roqueforti is added to the curds, and after molding, the rounds of cheese are rubbed with Penicillium camemberti.
The cheese is then left to mature for 2-4 weeks before consumption. Interestingly, Bresse Bleu is less pungent and less salty than most blue cheeses. Serve it with walnut bread and white grapes.
Crottin du Morvan is a traditional cheese originating from Yonne. The cheese is made from raw goat’s milk and it’s sold in a plastic bell. The name refers to the Morvan nature park in Burgundy. Underneath its wrinkly natural rind, the texture is soft, smooth, and creamy.
The aromas and flavors are goaty, tangy, and very fresh, with a natural creaminess. The cheese is usually consumed fresh and young, but it can also be aged for a few weeks, when it develops notes of hazelnuts.
THE BEST Crottin du Morvan Cheeses
Montrachet is a French cheese originating from the Burgundy area, where it's made by only one cheesemaker in Saint-Gengoux-le-National. The cheese is made from raw goat's milk and it's left to age for at least 4 weeks. The rind is wrapped in chestnut leaves, keeping the cheeese moist and adding an earthy note.
The texture of Montrachet is soft and clay-like. The aromas are fresh and goaty, while the flavors are mild, sweet, and slightly sour. It's recommended to pair Montrachet with a glass of white Burgundy and serve it on its own or with crackers and crusty bread.
Pair with
Édel de Cléron is a soft French cheese originating from the city of Cléron. It is made from pasteurized cow’s milk. The cheese matured for about three weeks, and it is then wrapped in cloth and bound with spruce bark strips, helping it to retain its shape and giving it a rustic, woody aroma.
On the exterior, it has a bloomy white rind, while the interior is creamy and runny in texture, so the cheese is often eaten with a spoon. Its flavor can best be described as earthy and mushroomy.
Clacbitou is a French cheese originating from the Saône-et-Loire department. This cylindrical cheese is made from raw goat’s milk, and it’s left to age for at least 2 weeks before consumption. Underneath its bloomy rind, the texture is soft, smooth, moist, and fresh when young, becoming more dense and firm with age.
The flavors are goaty and slightly sweet, with nutty and woody notes. It’s recommended to pair it with a glass of white wine from Burgundy.
Baratte is a traditional cheese that’s produced in the Saône-et-Loire region. This small cheese is made from raw goat’s milk, and it’s shaped into a cylinder with a short wheat straw on top. It’s usually left to age from 3 to 10 days, but it can be left to age further, when it dries out and becomes even smaller.
When fresh, the texture is moist, and when aged, the natural rind becomes bloomy, and the texture becomes brittle and firm. The aromas are reminiscent of mushrooms and hazelnuts, while the flavors are goaty and slightly acidic. It’s recommended to serve the cheese with redcurrant jelly, grape jelly, or chocolate for the aged version.
Best Burgundian Soft Cheeses
AWARDS
Concours International de Lyon - Gold
2025
AWARDS
Concours International de Lyon - Gold
2025
AWARDS
World Cheese Awards - Gold
2022
Concours International de Lyon - Gold
2025
AWARDS
World Cheese Awards - Gold
2024
AWARDS
World Cheese Awards - Gold
2024
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