L'Abbaye de Bel'loc

A beloved Basque sheep cheese, L'Abbaye de Bel'loc was facing extinction only a few years ago. Abbaye Notre-Dame de Bel'loc has been home to Benedictine monks since 1875. In 1959, they decided to start making cheese with milk from their own flock. Their cheese quickly became an international favorite. Unfortunately, by 2018, the monastery was down to only 20 residents and without new priests joining their community to continue their tradition of cheesemaking, they made the difficult decision to stop exporting their cheese. Thanks to the French nonprofit Habitat et Humanisme stepping in and using the abbey to house cheesemaking interns and others struggling with housing issues, we are able to enjoy this cheese again! Dense and silky, this delightful cheese has notes of brown butter, cooked cream, toasted nuts, and pale caramel. Try it and you will understand why we are so excited to have it back!