Lou Bren is a 100% sheep's milk tomme from Southern France, affined by Rodolphe Le Meunier out of the Loire Valley. It's an old-school recipe, very little done to the rind or to the paste, which is the whole point. What you get is an honest representation of the milk and the land it comes from, a semi-hard cheese with a natural rind and a pressed, supple interior that breaks in clean slabs under the knife. On the palate it's savory and buttery, with a really nice meaty, hearty character that runs from front to finish. The rind is edible but often skipped, and the paste underneath carries a gentle brown-butter pull and a quiet earthy note from the natural affinage. Nothing loud, nothing showy, just a properly made sheep's milk tomme that tastes like the pasture it came from. This one is at its best as the weather warms, when tomatoes and strawberries start to come in, and a chilled lighter red is on the table.
