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PDO — Midi-Pyrénées
A cylindrical wheel with a majestic curve, Laguiole is the cheesemaking memory of the Aubrac — born in the high-mountain burons, it carries within it the misty estives and the generosity of local-breed cows.
Uncooked pressed cheese from Midi-Pyrénées, PDO (AOP) since 1961.
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On the Aubrac plateau, the monks of the dômerie d'Aubrac — founded around 1120 by Adalard d'Eyne at the crossroads of the pilgrimage routes from Aurillac to Saint-Gilles-du-Gard and from Le Puy-en-Velay to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle — cleared the forest, transformed the high plateaux into pastures, and codified the production of Laguiole cheese. The cows stayed on the heights for only four and a half months, from 25 May (Saint-Urbain) to 13 October (Saint-Géraud): a cheese was therefore needed that was capable of keeping all year round, not least to feed the Compostelle pilgrims. This monastic tradition gave rise to a cheesemaking practice organised around burons — the stone estive huts, successors to the mazucs dug into the hillsides — where the buronniers would settle each spring to turn the herds' milk into wheels of Laguiole.
The buron brought together a small team rather than a single man: the cantalès responsible for making the cheese, the pastre in charge of milking, the bédelier tending the calves, and the roul, an apprentice — living in relative solitude during the estive. The fourmes produced in summer were gathered at Laguiole before those best suited to ageing were transported to the monastery of Aubrac, where they spent the winter in the cool: this « soudure » cheese thus remained available in spring and summer, before the arrival of the other uncooked pressed cheeses of the Massif central. This seasonal rhythm, repeated for centuries, forged the identity of Laguiole as a cheese of high altitude and patience.
The AOC obtained in 1961 — among the first cheeses to benefit from it in France — protected a production that was then undergoing a profound crisis: in 1959, output had fallen to just twenty-five tonnes, compared to seven hundred tonnes made by 1,200 buronniers in 300 burons at the beginning of the century. The coopérative Jeune Montagne, founded on 15 March 1960 by young Aubrac farmers led by André Valadier (the first fourmes were made on 1 June 1960 at La Terrisse, before moving to Laguiole), revived production and created artisanal-quality aligot from the tomme fraîche yielded by the same milk. Today, Laguiole is enjoying a new lease of life driven by the cooperative, while a single buron still carries on traditional summer production on the plateau.
Laguiole comes in cylindrical wheels thirty to forty centimetres in diameter, weighing from twenty to fifty kilograms. The dry rind, whitish to light grey at the start of maturation, takes on amber-brown to speckled grey tones over the months in the cellar. When cut, the paste is ivory to straw-yellow in colour, supple and unctuous, with a few small, irregular openings.
The aroma is clean and lactic, with notes of crème fraîche, dried grass, and a faint hint of the cellar. On the palate, the texture is melting and slightly elastic, more supple than neighbouring Cantal. The flavour is mild when young (four months), becoming progressively more assertive and complex with maturation: notes of hazelnut, melted butter, a gentle lactic acidity, and a lingering aromatic finish that lengthens with age (eight months and more). Laguiole d'estive, made in a buron, develops aromas of mountain herbs and wild flowers that dairy Laguiole cannot always match.
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Milk from Simmental française and Aubrac cows is heated to a temperature between 30 and 35°C and renneted, then the curd is cut into fine grains. After slow stirring, the whey is partially drained off, and the curd mass is pressed in cylindrical moulds for several hours. The tomme fraîche obtained in this way is the starting point for aligot or, after salting and the start of maturation, for Laguiole.
Maturation takes place in a cool cellar (6 to 12°C, relative humidity above 90%) for a minimum of four months from the date of renneting. During this period, the wheels are turned and brushed regularly to develop their rind and ensure uniform maturation. In commercial practice, maturation is most often extended to between nine and eighteen months, with the so-called « vieux » cheese then developing a denser paste and more complex aromas.
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Young Laguiole, mild and melting, sits well on a cheeseboard or is served at the end of a meal with sourdough country bread. It melts perfectly in gratins and soups, and is used in the preparation of aligot alongside tomme fraîche. Aged Laguiole, more complex and pronounced, deserves to be served with fig or grape jam.
Wine pairings are made with the reds of Marcillac, whose rustic, fruity tannins harmonise with the power of aged Laguiole. A structured Côtes du Lot or a Cahors will also suit. For younger cheeses, a dry white from Gaillac or a mineral Saint-Péray brings a welcome freshness.
Laguiole is available in young, vieux (extended maturation, minimum four months according to the specification), and de buron versions — the latter produced during the estive, from 1 June to 13 September. The Buron de la Treille, at Les Salces (Lozère, altitude 1,333 m), is today the last buron still active on the plateau and the only one to produce Laguiole Buron PDO directly on site. Unripened tomme fraîche de Laguiole is the key ingredient in aligot and is sold separately.
Since: 1961
Area covered: Aubrac (Aveyron, Cantal, Lozère)
Key requirements: Raw milk from Simmental française/Aubrac cows, uncooked pressed cheese, minimum 4 months' maturation, 20–50 kg wheel (diameter 30–40 cm)
PDO/PGI syndicate
Cooperative
GAEC
Prestigious establishment
Restaurant and restored traditional buron
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