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According to legend, Epoisses was invented at the beginning of the 16th century by Cistercian monks. It was probably farmers' wives who improved the production methods which have been passed down through the generations. Dry rooms in the north east of the region and ripening cellars found all over Burgundy (and which could be found in the farmers' houses all around Epoisses before the 19th century) validate this theory.
It is said Epoisses was one of Napoleon's favourite cheeses. Although Epoisses was popular at the beginning of the 20th century, its production petered out during the second World War. In 1956 it was saved when a gentleman called Berthaut from the village of Epoisses began making the cheese again.
Cheeses made in vineyard areas where the pasture picks up the scents and herbs which live with vines seem to have a special personality, whether wine is used in their curing or not. Epoisses is such a cheese, named after its home village in Burgundy near Dijon, and made both there and around Auxois to the east.
As an old and classic cheese it is, in the opinion of some gourmets such as Brillat-Savarin, the greatest cheese. It is made from well-chilled evening milk mixed with fresh, warm morning milk and renneted, in the past with herb flavoured rennet. Traditionally, after the milling and salating, its initial ripening should take place on rye straw, but it is likely to be done on plastic mats these days. While the cheese is still soft, it is moistened with Marc de Bourgogne, the spirit made from grape must and wine leaves. It is then cured in humid cellars and is soaked again either in Marc or in Marc and lightly salted water. A month later it is ready for sale.
It is a soft cow's milk cheese, traditionally made from whole unpasteurised milk of a breed of cattle called Pie Rouge de L'Est. Its washed rind is smooth, almost glossy and is coloured, cloudily, between gold and russet. Its rind also offers an initial experience of the penetrating, spirituous smell of the. As soon as you taste it, its noble, tangy, fruity flavour comes through.
Once strictly a seasonal cheese, best eaten between November and May, Epoisses is now made and eaten all year round - although even commercial production does not keep pace with demand and it is not easy to find outside France.
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