“Le Banon” – It´s been a while that we stumbled over this fine representative of raw goat´s milk cheese at the little cheese shop “La boite à fromages” in Digne, France, but the memory of flavour and texture “Le Banon” has to offer certainly withstands the ticking of time.
Le Banon, as the name implies, finds its origin in the little village of Banon in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and runs under the AOC lable since 2003.
Its origins date back to the middle ages and it is made out of unpasteurized and whole goat´s milk from local breeds that graze for at least 210 days a year and, when barn fed, have to be fed with fodder from the area of appellation.
After having been demolded and salted, Le Banon is left to mature for up to 10 days before being carefully folded into 5-7 chestnut leaves. In this cosy dress he then ripens for another 10+ days, uses them as a protective shell to keep him soft and moist and breaths in the flavours that make him such a special table companion. 
Le Banon, depending on age offers a lactic and acidic taste but also has an endless power to spoil you with tart and earthy flavours.
Gustav rates it 13/10 and recommends to serve him for breakfast only as a morning pint companion.
