Every so often I come across a cheese that I think I've already tasted, when actually it is a completely different cheese, from a completely different region, but with the same name. It can get confusing, I tell you! I've learned to keep a little notebook of the cheeses I've tasted, so I can keep from getting them mixed up.
Since I'm on a mission to taste every cheese produced in France, if there are two or even three that share a name yet come from different areas, then they must be different cheeses. It all goes back to that term terroir, which I believe applies to cheese as well as wine.
A tomme style goat cheese produced in the Alps or in the Pyrénées, like the Tomme de Chèvre I tasted three years ago, cannot be the same as a Tomme de Chèvre from the Corrèze, like this one.
The goats graze on different grasses and flowers, the climate is different, the water is different, thus each cheese will have unique characteristics.
This Tomme de Chèvre is one of those perfect, luscious cheeses that I could happily nibble on day after day.
It has a well balanced flavor that is rich, slightly sweet, grassy and nutty and a bit tangy. Its texture is silky smooth, creamy and very dense, and there is no evidence of goatiness, so no need to be wary if you're not a fan of goat cheese.
Chardonnay or a red such as Touraine would pair well with this chèvre.
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