Corsu Vecchio is an aged sheep's milk cheese from Corsica, the rugged Mediterranean island whose maquis-covered hillsides feed a long tradition of tomme-style sheep cheeses. Made from raw milk and aged out under a rustic natural rind, this is the kind of cheese that shows what happens when a small flock, a hot island, and patient aging get to do their thing. The paste is firm and dry, breaking into flinty shards rather than clean slices, with the concentrated chew you want from a well-matured sheep. Flavor runs toasted almond and browned butter through the middle, with a long salty backbone and a whisper of wild herb lifting off the natural rind. There's a gentle peppery warmth at the finish that sits and waits, sheepy and savory without ever going stinky. Corsican sheep cheese is a small category with a big personality, and Corsu Vecchio lands squarely in the aged-and-serious camp. One of my favorites to shave over a warm salad or set out with a piece of chestnut honey and a few figs.
