I thought I would add some info about a cheddar tasting I hosted last week. It's not specifically about port, but we did drink port (a 1992 Fonseca) and the cheese is good with port, so there's a tie-in somewhere.
Here was the lineup:
1. Montgomery's (I believe aged 2 years) - England
2. Lincolnshire Poacher - England
3. Carr Valley 6-year - Wisconsin
4. Grafton 4-year - Vermont
5. Jasper Hill Clothbound 18-month - Vermont
6. Chevre Noir 18-month goat's milk cheddar - Quebec
By far the winner of the evening was the Jasper Hill Clothbound. It's dry texture, yet melt-in-your-mouth salty flavor explosion, made it the #1 cheese of 4 of the 7 attendees. The remaining 3 had it in their top three.
On average, the #2 cheese of the evening was the Montgomery's. It's a bit creamy but with a dry finish. I detected a mustard aftertaste in the back of my palate, which was very pleasant.
The Lincolnshire Poacher would be my #3. It had a dry texture and was a tad acidic, but that allowed it to mate well with the 1992 Fonseca.
The #4 cheese, on average, would be the Chevre Noir goat's milk cheddar. This one was hard to judge because it's so different than the rest. To me, it was distinctively goat, a dry flavor on the palate but with a creamy consistency. One attendee made it their #1 of the evening, a couple of others had it in the middle of the pack, and a few others hated it.
The #5 would be the Grafton Village 4-year. It was creamy, salty, and tart. It worked well with the port. This cheese would have shined if it hadn't been up against the Vermont clothbound and the traditional English cheddars. Against these cheeses however, the Grafton didn't stand a chance.
Pulling up the rear was the Carr Valley 6-year. Only one person named it their #1 and this was because she equated it to the cheddar she was most used to. Several others, myself included, were of a mind that we could easily be eating a block of Kraft cheddar. My notes say "unexciting, commercial tasting, tastes like Crackerbarrel cheddar".
Overall, everyone enjoyed the event. It opened up many people's eyes on what cheddar is out there and how exciting cheddar can be.
All the best,
John
