Coolea Extra Mature

Coolea is made in the hills of Coolea, near Macroom in Co. Cork. Together with Milleens, it was the starting point for modern Irish farmhouse cheese and is still one of best. During the summer, the Willems use milk from a herd about two miles from their farm, whilst during the winter they use milk from a different herd, feeding on pasture which is drier than most others at that time. They never make cheese when the cattle aren’t grazing. Dicky insists that all milk used comes from grass-fed animals, as he believes that silage can taint the flavour of the cheese as it ages.

We tend to go for quite mature cheeses between 12 and 18 months. At this age, the cheese develops a sweet, almost toffee-like flavour and a slight crystalline consistency, not unlike Parmigiano. What makes Coolea so special, even in comparison to the best farm Dutch Goudas, is that it can age and develop robust flavours yet retain a delicateness as well as some of the gentler floral aromas of younger Goudas.