Valençay

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Valençay (AOC 2004, AOP) is a truncated pyramid of ash-coated goat cheese from the Berry, and the legend of its shape — that Napoleon sliced the top off a perfect pyramid cheese with his sword upon returning from the disastrous Egyptian campaign, not wanting to be reminded of the pyramids — is almost certainly apocryphal but too perfect to resist. The cheese weighs approximately 220g and is made from raw whole goat's milk following the classic Loire lactic method: gentle renneting, slow coagulation (18-24 hours), hand-ladling into truncated pyramid moulds, gravity drainage without pressing, ash coating, and minimum 11 days of affinage. The ash — traditionally from vine prunings of the local Valençay AOC vineyards — serves the same microbiological purpose as on Sainte-Maure: it neutralizes surface acidity, raising pH to favor Geotrichum candidum colonization, which creates the characteristic wrinkled blue-grey rind. The truncated pyramid shape is not merely decorative — it provides optimal surface-to-volume ratio for a lactic cheese, allowing even drainage and rind development on all faces. Young Valençay (11-15 days) has a fresh, citric tang with a moist, fine-grained paste. At 3-4 weeks, hazelnut and mushroom notes develop, the paste firms, and this is the cheese course stage. The flat top of the pyramid is the traditional serving presentation — the cheese stands upright on the plate, a distinctive silhouette. Valençay pairs with the local white wine (also called Valençay AOC — a Sauvignon Blanc-dominated blend) and with the local honey and walnuts that complete the canonical Loire cheese plate.

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