Great Hill Blue (Great Hill Dairy, Marion, Massachusetts)

On the shores of Buzzard’s Bay south of Boston, Tim Stone makes this cheese using the rich buttery milk from his outstanding herd of Guernsey cows. The unpasteurized as well as unhomogenized milk is also sourced from other local farms. Once the milk is heated and turned into curds, the moulds are filled by hand to ensure proper draining of the whey and the delicate curd structure is kept intact. The 2.7 kg (6 lb) cheeses have a good scattering of blue veins, not overly dense, and release their lovely nutty, mineral flavours through the buttery rich texture of the cheese. A classic match for this cheese would be a fine Burgundy with medium tannins.