Competing against 5.330 entries from 45 countries, a two-year-old French Comté cheese claimed the world title at the World Cheese Awards in Córdoba, Spain.
The winning wheel, designated as Comté Fort des Rousses 24 Months, emerged from a fiercely contested final round on Thursday. A 14-member international super jury evaluated the top contenders, narrowing the field through sensory assessments of taste, aroma, appearance, and texture.
The championship finale proved exceptionally tight as the French cheese outpaced finalists from Italy, Switzerland, and Spain. Three distinct cheeses locked at 81 points apiece in the closing stages: the victorious Comté, a Swiss mountain cheese, and a younger French sheep’s milk cheese from the Pyrenees region known as Ossau-Iraty, according to reporting by Kolektiv ME.
Three distinct cheeses locked at 81 points apiece. Judges broke the tie by discarding the highest and lowest scores given to each finalist, granting the crown to Comté because it maintained the narrowest overall spread of ratings. The total judging panel comprised 270 judges hailing from 51 nations.
“Its exceptional complexity of flavor was the deciding factor,” said Rafael Domínguez González, a Spanish expert and member of the final jury panel.
“The flavor develops gradually in the mouth, revealing layer after layer, accompanied by beautiful nutty notes. It is a cheese that truly leaves a strong impression,” Domínguez González told City Magazine.
The raw cow’s milk hard cheese originates from the Franche-Comté region of eastern France, hugging the Swiss border. Maturation took place inside Fort des Rousses, a former military fortification situated high in the Jura mountains that now operates as an aging cellar.
Affinage duties were managed by JuraFlore under the stewardship of Fromageries Arnaud, a family-run enterprise established in 1907.
“Ovo je veliko zadovoljstvo,” said Franck Arnaud, a descendant of the company’s founder.
“Next year we celebrate our 120th anniversary, and throughout all these years we have remained a family company. This news makes me immensely happy and I can’t wait to share it with our employees,” Arnaud added via video link.
Competition host Patrick McGuigan drew attention to the distinct dark, deep golden hue displayed by the two-year-old wheel, attributing the visual characteristics entirely to the passage of time.
“Look at that dark, deep golden color. It is created exclusively by the passage of time,” McGuigan said.
“Some say time is the fifth ingredient of cheese. You have milk, cultures, rennet, and salt, but time plays a huge role in flavor development. That golden color reminds me of summer pastures and cows grazing on fresh grass,” he said.
