After the cassoulet and Telegaphe, BL passed around a stunning cheese course The primary wine was a Taylor Port 1985 and the sub (for people who don't drink port---Hey, go figure---was a half bottle of Chateau Suduiraut 1988.
Whatever the motivation, the proferred cheeses were profound, a St. Agur Mont de Velay bleu, aptly nicknamed a "butter cream bleu", of exceeding richness and a well-aged provolone that was the most satisfying I have ever had, similar to, albeit lighter than a crystallized parmigiana reggiano.
Both were expansive on the palate, one with copious milkfat and mold, the other with piercing salt and minerality and no milkfat at all, only the austere, dessicated skeletal structure with a lingering ghost of provolone nuttiness.
Moist, crumbling and rich on one side, grainy and dessicated and sharp on the other, with only the fresh slices of baguette in between, the course demanded a full-blown, hearty and profound wine as a companion.
So, with the cheeses, Lou passed the port around, a lovely, generous Taylor 1985, which increased the umami to amazing levels, almost off the charts. One of the guests did not drink Port, so Lou obligingly produced a pristine half bottle of Sauternes, a 1988 Chateau Suduiraut with its characteristic light, bright sweetness and medium body. The wine was delicious, although light and not yet tipped over into the burnished gold it may attain, and the cheeses needed the weighty heft of the Taylor and its palate cleansing authority to balance out the course.
