Cherry Soup

As Brian and I discussed what foods we might be interested in sampling for this months taste off we stumbled upon a gold mine.  Cheese.  Cheeeeeeeeeeese.  We liked the idea so much that we decided to make this our food of choice every other month.

But it presented a set of complications.  Brian, in San Francisco, has a world of cheese resources.  I have one really cool grocery store.  Between us there was no guarantee that we’d ever be able to find the same two brands to taste.

So instead, we’ve decided to do cheese parings.  Brian will take beer, and I take wine.  Each time we will both sample the same type of cheese with the understanding that their will be differences in brand, age and potentially differences in the cheese’s heritage.

Our first cheese was decided upon unanimously.  Manchego.

A particularly lovely description of Manchego from CheeseSupply.com:
A cheese from the plains where Don Quixote of legend tilted at windmills, Manchego has been made in La Mancha since the time of the Romans. This true aged raw milk Manchego is made only from the mild of the Manchega sheep from the La Mancha Plateau region, more than 600 meters above sea level. The flavor is slightly acidic and piquant, the persistent taste of the sheep’s milk gives it a nutty finish.

This time, I’m boing first with the wine choices.

First, a bit about my Manchego.  I spent no time deliberating as it was my only option.  A 3 month Gran Valle de Montecelo.

My thought on the cheese…

Appearance:
Very pale cream, with deeper color nearer the rind.  Rind very festive looking with traditional herringbone markings on the rind.

Aroma:
Salt.  Very strong cream scent.  Stronger than cow’s cream, I believe.

Texture:
Semi-soft? Semi-firm?  Really nice balance.  Very smooth.  I keep expecting it to have more of a grainy consistency, probably due to the salty flavor, but there is none.

Flavor:
Subtle buttery flavors. Salty, but not too much.  Much less salty than feta. Tarter at the end.

Overall:
Manchego is one of my favorite cheeses because of it’s smoothness and almost gentle flavor.  I’ve never had it a a nibbling cheese before.  Normally I’ve had it with Mexican food or in salads.  It makes me want to give sheep’s milk a try sometime.

I did a bit of research and found the most commonly suggested wine pairing for Manchego to be Rioja.  I’d never a Rioja before and was excited for the opportunity and chose a Faustino VII 2006 bottle. I’ve decided that in contrast, at least for now, I’ll be using local wines.  West Texas is certainly not known for its vineyards, but we have five wineries in the area that are all quite good.  For this instance, I kept with red and chose a bottle of McPherson’s Tres Colore, 2007 (Carignan 58%, Mourverdre 30%, Viognier 12%.)

I was surprised at the differences.  I wasn’t expecting there to be any.  Oh.  But there were.

Because I am a bit of a light-weight with alcohol, I did the pairings on two different nights.  I went with the Rioja first.

For me, the Rioja had a very strong flavor.  Lots of cherry and tart.  Definitely some chocolate overtones.  Very good on it’s own, but again, strong.  When sampled with the cheese, though, it smoothed them both out.  The tart was still there, but not nearly as forward.  And the tartness of the cheese all but gone.  The cheese highlights the chocolate notes of the wine and the cherry sort of disappears.  The two together was an even better experience than separate.

The Tres Colore was not nearly as tart as the Rioja, nor was it as strong.  It was a great deal more mellow.  The flavor was softer.  More vanilla and raspberry, with a bit of smokyness to it.  Quite good, and on its own I prefer it to the Rioja.

But it was less than stellar with the Manchego.  The flavors tended to mellow each other out too much.  Instead of enhancing anything, it seemed as though everything were lost instead.

The Rioja was the clear winner with the Manchego.  (And I was the winner for getting to eat and drink so much of both!)

And now for Brian and his beer.

Note:  My Manchego was aged 3 months.  As you can tell from the picture at the top, Brian’s was aged for 8 months.

Appearance
Medium orange-brown rind encases the off-white colored cheese. Near the rind the cheese is a slightly brighter shade than the center, which approaches a very faint yellow.  Very small, thin divots are scattered throughout the surface.

Aroma
Moderate-light pungency with hints of olive and a faint trace of citrusy tartness.

Texture
Lightly creamy/buttery. Soft and supple, this cheese melts in your mouth.

Flavor
Moderately salty with a very faint spiciness, present only for an instance. There’s also an appetizing cashew-nutty quality, adding a layer of complexity to the flavor. Slightly tart.

Moylan’s Kilt Lifter Scotch-Style Ale is a rich, malty wee heavy packed with tons of caramel and hints of chocolate and earthiness. There’s also a faint smokiness in the background.

Brooklyn Brown Ale has a well-defined roasty malt background with coffee and chocolate flavors. Balanced with citrusy hops and a firm bitterness.

The mild citrus hop flavor of the Brooklyn Brown Ale melds well with the cheese’s light tartness. The slight nutty presence of the manchego  is also compliment to the chocolatey, roasted malt.

Manchego’s light tart character and subtle nuttiness work with the caramel and chocolate flavors of this beer. However, the delicate flavors tend to become slightly muddled beneath this strong Scottish-style ale. The beer would likely pair better in a heartier prepared dish but if you’re dining on manchego cheese alone, I find the Brooklyn Brown a better match.

—

I think Brian will agree with me that this was a great deal of fun.  If I could spend every night sampling cheese and wine, I’d be a much happier woman and a much, much easier grader.  (Students will be petitioning me to do this very soon.)

Next month we will take on another compare/contrast between a particular food, but in May we will attack the cheese again!