Roquefort and the Larzac: The Cheese Caves and the Hospitallers' Tower
Occitanie, France
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Combalou Cave Taster
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250
XP
+100 France
= 350 total
2 days
Roquefort and the Larzac: The Cheese Caves and the Hospitallers' Tower
250 + 100 XP
Roquefort can only be ripened in the caves of the Combalou, a fallen cliff above Roquefort-sur-Soulzon where faults in the rock, the fleurines, pull a constant draught through at about 10 degrees and never less than 80 per cent humidity. Charles VI gave the village the sole right to ripen it by letters patent of 4 June 1411, and in 1925 it became the first French cheese with a legally protected name. Up on the Larzac the Templars and then the Hospitallers held fortified villages, and at Le Viala-du-Pas-de-Jaux the prior authorised a tower-granary in 1430 that still stands 27 m over five floors.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Tour a Roquefort cave in the Combalou, such as Société or Papillon, and taste the cheese ripened there
2
of 5
Stand at a fleurine in the cave wall and feel the draught coming off the rockfall — a constant 10 degrees and never below 80 per cent humidity, the only conditions in which Penicillium roqueforti will do its work — then walk the rue des Caves and see how the whole ripening zone fits into a strip 2,000 m by 300 m
3
of 5
Climb the five floors of the Tour du Viala-du-Pas-de-Jaux, 27 m of Hospitaller granary and refuge built from 1430 because the nearest safe walls until then were at Sainte-Eulalie-de-Cernon, and come out on the machicolated wall-walk under its lauze-covered vault for 360 degrees of Larzac
4
of 5
Walk the walls of Sainte-Eulalie-de-Cernon, the commandery that ran this whole corner of the Larzac, and work out which parts the Templars built before 1307 and which the Hospitallers added after they took the order's property in 1315 — their churches are the ones dedicated to John the Baptist
5
of 5
Drive out onto the causse and find the Lacaune ewes whose milk is the only milk allowed in Roquefort, on the ground Charles VII described as a country where nothing grows, neither a vine nor a grain of wheat, and which still pays 2,600 farmers
Tour a Roquefort cave in the Combalou, such as Société or Papillon, and taste the cheese ripened there
Stand at a fleurine in the cave wall and feel the draught coming off the rockfall — a constant 10 degrees and never below 80 per cent humidity, the only conditions in which Penicillium roqueforti will do its work — then walk the rue des Caves and see how the whole ripening zone fits into a strip 2,000 m by 300 m
Climb the five floors of the Tour du Viala-du-Pas-de-Jaux, 27 m of Hospitaller granary and refuge built from 1430 because the nearest safe walls until then were at Sainte-Eulalie-de-Cernon, and come out on the machicolated wall-walk under its lauze-covered vault for 360 degrees of Larzac
Walk the walls of Sainte-Eulalie-de-Cernon, the commandery that ran this whole corner of the Larzac, and work out which parts the Templars built before 1307 and which the Hospitallers added after they took the order's property in 1315 — their churches are the ones dedicated to John the Baptist
Drive out onto the causse and find the Lacaune ewes whose milk is the only milk allowed in Roquefort, on the ground Charles VII described as a country where nothing grows, neither a vine nor a grain of wheat, and which still pays 2,600 farmers
Before you go
The caves sit at about 10 degrees with humidity above 80 per cent whatever the weather outside, so take a jumper even in August; the tours are timed and are booked separately by each house. Roquefort is at its best from January to August.
The Roquefort caves are open all year — the cellars are a constant 10 degrees whatever the month — but Papillon reserves the right to shut for odd days in winter and took a week off in early January, so ring before you drive up. The Tour du Viala-du-Pas-de-Jaux is the tight one: out of high season it opens on only a couple of weekdays and shuts at 16h, and it closes altogether for staff training and holidays, so check tour-du-viala.com for the day you want.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
250 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
350 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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