Also called Gruyere de Comte, Comte is a stately and robust cheese from Jura. Closely related to Swiss Gruyere which is made just across the border. A large cheese weighing approximately 80 lbs, each wheel of Gruyere is made from about 140 gallons of raw milk from cows grazing soley on fresh grasses, wild herbs and hay. These flavors are translated direltly into the flavors of the finished product which is thought to be one of the most layered and complex of all cheeses. A wonderful balance, Comte is full flavored and robust yet mellow and smooth. The slight edge is smoothed by notes of grass, hay, butter, toffee, toasted nuts and fruit.

As an AOC cheese, the zone of production for Comte is strictly limited to the Massif Jurassien, and each cheese maker can only collect milk within a radius of 25 kilometers.  Milk is collected and taken to dairies called “fruitieres” who make only small numbers of wheels each day. These are in turn sold to affineurs who age the cheese a mimimum of 4 months but often upwards of two years for the most complex and flavorful wheels.