Ashcombe

Ingredients & Allergens

Ingredients: Cheese (milk).
Allergen advice: for allergens see ingredients in bold.

Tasting notes

At Manor Farm in Chedworth, Gloucestershire, David Jowett began small-scale farmhouse cheese making in 2015 using organic milk from the farm's mixed herd of British Friesian and Shorthorn cows. The herd comprises two groups with 240 spring calving and 70 autumn calving animals. Manor Farm is organic and low input with regenerative agricultural practices, such as herbal lays and focus on soil structure, being followed for nearly twenty years.

Ashcombe is made in large 6kg flat, disc-shaped wheels. For five weeks it is washed daily in brine solution to develop its terracotta rind and smooth, supple texture. It is then matured for a further three months. Like Morbier, Ashcombe has a striking horizontal line of wood ash running through the centre of the cheese. In flavour it is rich and milky, with rounded butteriness and a touch of lactic tang. There are hints of hazelnut and also mushroom around the rind.

The name Ashcombe links this cheese to its local landscape. The 'Coombes' are steep paddocks and a small woodland area overlooked by the dairy. Ash refers to both the line running through the cheese and also the ash trees found in this nearby woodland.

We recommend Ashcombe with an accompaniment of classic French cornichons or our Slate pickled cucumbers, alongside some meaty slices of full-flavoured saucisson

Wine pairing with Ashcombe

Katie Goodchild dipWSET, Suffolk-based wine expert and cheese lover, recommends Bolney Wine Estate Pinot Noir 2019

“The natural high acidity in English reds can sometimes be a barrier when paired with cheese, but here it works almost as a palate cleanser to Ashcombe’s supple texture. Drink slightly cooler than room temperature and enjoy with classic French saucisson.”