Valençay

Valençay is a soft cheese with an unusual visual appearance, made from goat's milk in the French regions of Cher, Indre, Indre-et-Loire and Loir-et-Cher. It is shaped like a pyramid with its top cut off, and according to a legend, it used to have a full pyramid shape until Napoleon cut the top off with his sword upon his arrival back home from a failed expedition to Egypt.

The cheese is covered with a natural blue-gray mold coated with a mix of salt and charcoal and its body is smooth and dense in texture while the taste is slightly piquant, mild, nutty and lemony. Pair it with dry white or sparkling wines.