What do I know about Slowakian Riesling? Embarrassingly little, such as that this one, the 2011 „1“ from Elesko, grows in the small Carpathians in the Modra region, not even two hours drive east of Vienna. And that with 12% alcohol it is light in a very pleasant way, but in the depth of winter also quite refreshing due to the characteristic Riesling acidity!
However, at a certain point in the course of the evening,when cheese had long since found its way onto the table and other bottles were empty, the „1“ landed in our glasses. That was how it met the Valençay and let us witness one of those miracles that make a cheese and wine freak’s life so wonderful and exciting. Because suddenly the Riesling acidity seemed tamed, purring at the dense, slightly salty cheese (itself subdued in its acid level) like a velvety little pussycat. The bluegrey mould cultures on the cheese rind certainly weren’t innocent in this… And the very improvised picture is not only proof of unflinching professionality (no, we are not going to finish this cheese straight away, first I need a picture!), but also shows that although the light might be better in the morning, cheese woman tends to be more awake towards the end of the day. Anyway, the fact remains: acidity-driven, dry and relatively young Riesling with moderate alcohol likes mouldy, medium matured small goat cheeses such as the Valençay.
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