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AOC — PDO — Auvergne
Born of a 19th-century cheesemaker's intuition, Bleu d'Auvergne rivals Europe's great blue cheeses — milder, creamier, a child of the volcanic mountains.
Blue cheese from Auvergne, PDO (AOP) since 1996.
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Bleu d'Auvergne is the child of an intuition: born in 1820 in the hamlet of Villevialle, in the commune of Laqueuille (Puy-de-Dôme), Antoine Roussel — an Auvergnat who had trained in pharmacy in his youth — developed as early as 1854 the technique of piercing with a knitting needle, allowing air to penetrate the cheese and enabling Penicillium roqueforti, the fungus responsible for the blue veining, to develop evenly. At the time, he was seeking to imitate Roquefort, whose blueing remained irregular and haphazard in the farmhouse cheeses of Auvergne.
Unlike the blue cheeses of the south, which rest on often-mythologised traditions, Bleu d'Auvergne is a cheese of democratic invention — born of experimentation on mountain plains, rather than descending from monastic methods. This innovative character has been its strength.
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Bleu d'Auvergne covers a vast and discontinuous area of the Massif Central: virtually all of Cantal, as well as parts of Puy-de-Dôme, Haute-Loire, Aveyron, Corrèze, Lot, and Lozère — 630 communes, between 600 and 1,200 metres in altitude, at the confluence of three administrative regions (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie). The specifications do not impose any specific cattle breed: they merely require that the cows be born and reared in the area, graze for at least 150 days a year, and that their feed outside grazing comes almost exclusively from the territory.
Bleu d'Auvergne obtained AOC status in 1975, followed by European PDO (AOP) in 1996. In Laqueuille, the historic cradle of the cheese, the dairy founded in 1949 by entrepreneur Antoine Sarliève — which has since become an agricultural cooperative (SICA) — continues the industrial production of Bleu d'Auvergne alongside Bleu de Laqueuille, its milder, creamier cousin born directly of Roussel's invention.
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Where Roquefort terrifies delicate palates and Italian Gorgonzola seduces with a different sweetness, Bleu d'Auvergne strikes a balance: veined enough to reveal its blue character, yet mild enough to win over hesitant tasters. It is 'the beginner's blue' and, for connoisseurs, a window into Auvergne's volcanic identity — less intense than its cousins, but more complex than it might seem.
Appearance
Natural rind, ivory-white to cream blue-veined paste marbled with regular blue-green veins.
Aroma
Aromas of undergrowth, wild mushrooms, and cream.
Taste
Intense and fragrant, clean and distinctive, without bitterness or excess acidity or salt.
Texture
Melting and creamy, a unique character that improves with maturation.
Bleu d'Auvergne laitier — Made in a dairy from a blend of milks from several surrounding farms (Laqueuille, Riom-ès-Montagnes); this is the most widely sold version.
Bleu d'Auvergne fermier — Made on the farm, with milk from a single herd; more pronounced flavour, less regular but more natural veining.
Bleu d'Auvergne bio — Certified organic range, offered in particular by the Société Laitière de Laqueuille.
grains separated from the whey on a draining belt
drained curd poured into perforated cylindrical moulds approximately 20 cm in diameter
unmoulded after about 48 hours, salted by hand around the edge and on both faces
a minimum of 4 weeks in cool, humid cellars
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Bleu d'Auvergne is traditionally enjoyed at the end of a meal on a cheeseboard, but also in cooking — a Bleu d'Auvergne sauce elevates a ribeye steak. Its melting texture also makes it a popular ingredient in salads, soufflés, pasta, or savoury tarts.
Food and wine pairings: full-bodied red wines (Madiran, Gaillac, Cahors) or sweet dessert wines (Sauternes, sweet Jurançon), or even Port; rustic or rye bread, walnuts, apple, pear, fig.
Since: 1975
Area covered: Extended Massif Central: Cantal (15), Puy-de-Dôme (63), Haute-Loire (43), Aveyron (12), Corrèze (19), Lot (46), Lozère (48)
Key requirements: Cow's milk, inoculation with Penicillium roqueforti, matured for a minimum of 4 weeks
Since: 1996
Area covered: Extended Massif Central: Cantal (15), Puy-de-Dôme (63), Haute-Loire (43), Aveyron (12), Corrèze (19), Lot (46), Lozère (48)
Key requirements: Mandatory needle piercing, cool and humid cellars, no cattle breed imposed, but cows must be born and reared in the area
Needle piercing is mandatory for the development of Penicillium roqueforti. Pasteurised milk for dairy production, raw milk permitted for farmhouse. Standardised cylindrical format: approximately 20 cm in diameter, 8 to 10 cm in height, weighing 2 to 3 kg.
Cooperative cheese dairy — Producer & affineur
Cooperative cheese dairy — Producer & affineur
Cheese dairy — Producer & affineur
Cheese dairy — Fourme d'Ambert PDO (AOP) producer
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Request a listingCooperative cheese dairy — Producer & affineur
Société Laitière de Laqueuille presents itself as a maker of Auvergne cheeses since 1949. Located in Laqueuille, at the heart of the Bleu d'Auvergne and Fourme d'Ambert PDO (AOP) zone, it defines itself as a blue cheese specialist and offers its cheeses across four ranges: pasteurised milk, raw milk, organic milk, and portions.
It states that since 2008 it has been producing raw-milk Bleu d'Auvergne PDO and Fourme d'Ambert PDO in a separate workshop dedicated exclusively to this production. Its best-seller, Bleu de Laqueuille, is nicknamed 'le Bleu de la Mémée' by the people of Auvergne.
Mondial du Fromage et des Produits Laitiers · Tours
| Address | 372 ROUTE DES NEIGES, 63820 Saint-Julien-Puy-Lavèze, France |
| 04 73 22 18 00 | |
| fromages-laqueuille.fr | |
| Facebook page | |
| Visits | To be completed |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2010. |
Cheese dairy — Producer & affineur
The company presents itself as a maker and affineur since 1911, a venture begun in 1904: its first Saint-Nectaire cheeses were matured in Clermont-Ferrand from 1911, before the manufacture of Cantal PDO (AOP) was established at its Saint-Flour dairy. It offers Auvergne cheeses (Saint-Nectaire, Cantal, Salers, Bleu d'Auvergne, Gaperon) and Pyrenean cheeses (Petit Bethmale, Tomme Prestige). A new production facility for Cantal PDO there was co-financed by the European Union under the FEADER.
Mondial du Fromage et des Produits Laitiers · Tours
| Address | Le Rozier, 8 rue de la tranchée, 15100 Saint-Flour, France |
| +33 4 63 56 50 11 | |
| pauldischamp.com | |
| Facebook page | |
| @fromageriesdischamp | |
| Visits | To be completed |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2020. |
