June Victorian Cheese Subscription Box 

We’ve got some new treats as well as old favourites for you with our June Victorian Cheese Subscription box. Skyla from Holy Goat captures the delicacy of lactic set, goats milk cheese at its best. Stone & Crow Night Walker is everything a washed rind cheese should be – creamy and lush with earthy, almost meaty flavour notes. Shaw River Special Reserve is a collaborative effort between cheesemaker and affineur and sadly one that won’t be seen again since the closure of Shaw River Buffalo Cheese production earlier this year. This is our final allocation of this memorable cheese. Our fourth cheese this month is the latest release from Castlemaine’s Long Paddock Cheese, their much-awaited Granite Clothbound Cheddar.

It's exciting to see - and taste - the extraordinary variety of cheese currently being produced by Victorian cheesemakers. 

HOLY GOAT SKYLA
Goat milk - Dja Dja Wurrung, Daylesford-Macedon region, Victoria

Holy Goat Skyla is a handmade surface-ripened fresh goats cheese made to a recipe based on traditional French goat milk cheeses common in the Loire Valley. It has a very delicate texture with a soft, creamy centre and a distinctive wrinkly rind. Skyla offers an amazing depth of flavour with a creamy, lactic sweetness balanced with a hint of citrus on the finish.
In 1999, Ann-Marie Monda and Carla Meurs established Sutton Grange Organic Farm (certified organic by National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia) with just 3 goats, having spent many years working alongside pioneering Australian goat cheese maker, Gabrielle Kervella, in Western Australia. Today, they have around 120 goats which they all know by name. Holy Goat specialise in lactic-set goat milk cheeses that are widely regarded as the best in Australia.

Goes well with: can be grilled and served on salad leaves, or on a cheeseboard with rye crackers
Drink suggestions: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, dry Rosé


STONE & CROW NIGHT WALKER
Cow milk - Wurundjeri, Yarra Valley region, Victoria

Nightwalker is a small washed rind cheese that has a soft texture that becomes gooey with age. The milk comes from a single herd of Friesian & Jersey cows. The cheese is washed in brine every day for the first couple of weeks until it is ready to wrap for sale. The final flavour is typical of washed rind cheeses, with meaty notes and a creamy finish.
Cheesemaker Jack Holman gets together several times a year with mates and they head out into the bush for a night walk. One night, Jack shared a new cheese he had been working on and his mates loved it. The cheese was named Night Walker, and it now makes an appearance on every night walk.

Goes well with: crusty bread, pear, almonds
Drink suggestions: sour beers, cider, Yarra Valley Pinot Noir or Chardonnay


SHAW RIVER - SPECIAL RESERVE
Buffalo milk - Gunditjmara, Western District, Victoria

Shaw River Special Reserve is a semi hard buffalo milk cheese, the result of a joint project between the Haldane family of Shaw River Buffalo Cheese and Jacks Holman of Stone & Crow. Earlier this year, Shaw River Buffalo Cheese decided to stop production and close the door permanently at their farmhouse facility. The Haldane family were pioneers of water buffalo milking in Australia, bringing riverine buffalo from Italy & Bulgaria in 1995. With the closure of Shaw River Buffalo Cheese, there are only a handful of these unique cheeses left.
It has developed a beautiful natural rind & smooth creamy yet crumbly texture. The piquant flavour, typical of buffalo milk cheeses, is accentuated by a balance of sweet caramel nutty tones.

Goes well with: fruit bread, fig or damson paste
Drink suggestions: fresh young white wines such as a Riesling


LONG PADDOCK GRANITE CHEDDAR
Cow milk - Dja Dja Wurrung, Castlemaine, Victoria

Granite Cheddar gets its name from the mottled grey/brown rind which resembles granite stone found around the Castlemaine region. In the traditional Somerset style, the cheese is wrapped with multiple layers of cotton cloth and lard. The lard both protects and seals the cheese, helping rind-development over the months with the assistance of favourable yeasts, bacteria and moulds. Beneath the rind is a daffodil-yellow interior with a dense, slightly crumbly paste. The complex savoury flavour is grounded in all things earthy and umami with grassy, buttery notes and a slightly acidic finish.
Julie and Ivan Larcher relocated to Castlemaine, Victoria from Limoges, France. Years of experience making cheese and consulting have informed their considered production at every stage. From careful monitoring of herd health and milking through their small-batch cheesemaking process and maturation, nothing is left to chance. Ivan is no stranger to the intricate art of making traditional clothbound Cheddar, having spent years working with great English makers of Cheddar cheese such as Montgomery’s, Westcombe and Hafod.

Goes well with: perfect as part of a Ploughman’s lunch with pickles, relish & hearty bread
Drink suggestions: rustic cider or English style ales, Cabernet Sauvignon


About the Harper & Blohm cheese subscriptions

Our monthly cheese subscription is a carefully selected box of cheese with tasting notes delivered straight to your door. We offer 1, 3, 6, or 12-month subscriptions starting at $95 a month including delivery. Delivery via our refrigerated courier is available across Melbourne & selected areas of regional Victoria.
Orders for our June Cheese Subscription Box close at 5pm Friday 27th May for delivery on Friday 3rd June.

Order your June Subscription here

photo courtesy @Holy Goat Cheese