Nimbin Valley Dairy 'Sainte Billie'

Surface-ripened lactic
Goat's milk (mixed Saanen, Toggenberg, British Alpine)
Northern Rivers
60g discs
~1 month maturation
www.nimbinvalley.com.au

I can't decide what I like best about this cute little button - its dense, fudgey texture, its ivory, wrinkled skin, or its delicately balanced creamy and lemony flavours.

Nimbin Valley Dairy
'Sainte Billie'

Cheesemaker Paul Wilson has taken inspiration from beautiful French goat's milk cheeses such as Saint-Felicien, Pelardon, Rocamadour and Cabecou. None of those is available in Australia, which makes Sainte Billie even more likeable.

This style of cheese requires great skill to create, and even greater skill to produce really well. Sainte Billie is up there with the best in the country.

In fact, I think what I like best about Sainte Billie is its size - perfect for one. When cheese is this good, who wants to share?

Nimbin Valley Dairy 'Sweet Goat'

Semi-hard
Goat's milk (mixed Saanen, Toggenberg, British Alpine)
Northern Rivers
3kg wheels
3-6 months maturation
www.nimbinvalley.com.au

Close your eyes and take a bite of Sweet Goat, and you could be in the French Alps, nibbling Tomme de Chevre. But chances are, you're probably surrounded by the verdant pastures of the Nimbin Valley, because this cheese is rarely found beyond the Northern Rivers region.

Nimbin Valley Sweet Goat

Cheesemaker Paul Wilson has crafted a beautiful cheese with a mild, earthy aroma, thanks to a rustic rind mottled with pinks, whites and browns. The texture is smooth and supple, and the flavour is reminiscent of hazelnuts, with hints of caramel.

We are fortunate to have cheese-makers like Paul in NSW. Not only does he make great cheese, he wants to make even better cheese, and has travelled to France twice in the last couple of years to improve his craft.

I was lucky enough to try a Sweet Goat that had been matured for more than six months. I ordered it when it was made last Spring, and waited patiently until Autumn, when Paul was satisfied that it had reached its potential. When I tasted it for the first time, I was overwhelmed by its heady aromas, and marvelled at its clean, complex flavours and long finish.

I would happily declare it the best aged goat's cheese I've tasted in years.

Bangalow Cheese Co 'Nashua'

Washed rind
Cow's milk (mixed Friesian/Guernsey/Jersey/Swiss Brown)
Northern Rivers
150g discs
6 weeks maturation
www.bangalowcheese.com.au

I love this cheese. I first discovered it at the ASCA Sydney Cheese Show in 2009, where I nominated it as best cheese in show. Sadly, my affection was not shared by the other judges at that particular show, and another cheese took the gong on the day.

Clearly, I was ahead of the times, because at the Sydney Royal Cheese Show in 2010, it won Gold in its class, as well as Champion Bovine Cheese and Champion Fancy Cheese.

Bangalow Cheese Co 'Nashua'

Cheesemaker Justin Telfer washes the infant cheeses in a salty brine, then lets a little bit of bloomy white mould develop on the surface. His approach is very much about allowing the cheeses to develop distintive characteristics depending on the season, and the subtle changes in each batch of milk.

Like many Australian washed rind cheeses, 'Nashua' is at its best in Autumn. When perfectly ripe, its texture is soft and pillowy, and it oozes invitingly when cut. The best batches have a distinctive hint of earth and truffles in amongst all that golden gooeyness.

After a break from the limelight last year, 'Nasha' was back to form at this year's Sydney Royal where it again earned a Gold medal in its class, and the Trophy for Champion Fancy Cheese. Not bad for a little hand-made cheese from a little town in the Northern Rivers.

Bangalow Cheese Co 'Byron Bay' Blue

Blue
Cow's milk (mixed Friesian/Guernsey/Jersey/Swiss Brown)
Northern Rivers
2kg wheels
8 weeks maturation
www.bangalowcheese.com.au

One of the things I love most about dealing with small producers is getting to know their cheeses as they evolve. Hand-made cheeses change with the seasons, and they change over time as the cheese-maker tweaks and refines the recipe.

Justin Telfer has been tinkering with his 'Byron Bay' Blue lately, and the results are impressive. One of the most striking changes is visual - it now has beautiful orange patches of Brevi mottled on the rind, helping it stand our from all the other blues in the fridge. The texture has also changed (it's now a little firmer, without being crumbly), and the flavour is far more complex and integrated, with meaty notes that I normally only taste in cheeses made from ewe's milk.

What used to taste like so many other Australian blue cheese now has a unique character of its own. Could it be due to the longer, slower maturation time, or perhaps the recent adjustments to starter cultures and salting methods?

Whatever the reason, 'Byron Bay' Blue is beautifully composed; it's not as bold as Beethoven, nor showy like Bach, but more like Brahms - gentle, melodic, harmonious. It sings in the mouth.

Bangalow Cheese Co 'Tintenbar' Triple Cream

Triple Cream
Cow's milk (mixed Friesian/Guernsey/Jersey/Swiss Brown)
Northern Rivers
150g rounds
3 weeks maturation
www.bangalowcheese.com.au

Winter is not normally the best time for local white-mould cheeses, but 'Tintenbar' Triple Cream, from the rolling green hinterland of Byron Bay, is an exception. Perhaps its the sub-tropical warmth of the northern rivers region, relative to other parts of NSW, or maybe cheesemaker Justin Telfer just has a knack for transforming delicious fresh cream and milk into indulgent treats like this.

Bangalow Cheese Co
'Tintenbar' Triple Cream

Justin starts by boosting fresh full-cream milk, from a single herd of pasture-fed cows, with additional cream to raise its fat content to around 10%. He carefully hand-crafts the cheeses and allows them to ripen with a combination of P. candidum and Geotrichum moulds for around 10 days, before wrapping them in their delightful blue gingham papers. They stay in the maturation room for another week before being moved to a regular coolroom to prevent further ripening.

Unlike so many other Australian triple cream cheeses, 'Tintenbar' is not heavy or cloying on the palate. It has a vibrant marigold colour and lovely white rind that is not too thick. The flavour is like cultured cream with a hint of mushrooms, and a delicious, slightly sour tang on the finish. Perfect with some crusty bread and a glass of sparkling wine.