Tasting notes
Sparkenhoe Red Leicester - Made by the Clarke family on their farm in Upton, south-west Leicestershire, Sparkenhoe Red Leicester is England’s only raw milk Red Leicester cheese made in its namesake county. Mellow and nutty, it bears little resemblance to supermarket cheese of the same name. It is matured cloth-bound on beech shelves for six months to develop its firm and slightly flaky texture. The eye-catching orangey-red colour of this cheese comes from addition of the natural vegetable dye ‘annatto’. The cheese takes its name from the farm on which it is made. Sparkenhoe is an old Leicestershire word meaning "gorsey nob". Unpasteurised cow's milk / Traditional rennet.
Wensum White - A brie-style goat’s cheese made here in East Anglia by Fielding Cottage, best known for their bright yellow wax-coated Norfolk Mardler. Based just outside Norwich at Honingham, Sam Steggles and his team have been making cheese since 2009 when he bought ten milking goats whilst on holiday in Cumbria. This soft cheese with a bloomy white rind is ripened for six to eight weeks. It is a medium strength goat’s cheese and pairs well with Sauvignon Blanc and Loire Valley Sancerre. Pasteurised goat’s milk / Vegetarian rennet.
Cote Hill Blue - An indulgent blue cheese, encased in a natural thin grey rind, that offers a beautiful balance between rich creaminess and peppery bite. Pierced at three weeks to develop dashes of blue mould through its paste and then aged for a further three weeks to soften, it matures from its slightly chalky centre to become gooey under the rind. Cote Hill Blue has been made by the Davenport family in Osgodby, Lincolnshire for over thirty years from the milk of their mixed herd of Friesian and Red Poll cows. With hints of mushroom and earthiness it is great on the cheeseboard and for cooking a blue cheese sauce. Its buttery sweetness and subtle kick pair well with port or sweet wine such as Monbazillac. Unpasteurised cow’s milk / Vegetarian rennet.