The Roquefort Files

The 7 official Roquefort producers

See our accompanying article The Roquefort-philes on tasting 15 Roquefort in one sitting.

Société

www.roquefort-societe.com
Est. 1851 as a cooperative of milk producers & ripeners, now part of the Lactalis Group.
1,000 milk producers supply them (38 of which are organic).
10,000 Tes / year production.
Visits possible daily (€4-7)

The first & oldest producer and exporter.

Cheeses:

• Société 1863 – the most commonly found cheese in their range. Available also in pre-cut portions.
• Caves Baragnardes – found in pre-cut slices. A fresher style with noticeably green mould veins.
• Cave Abeille – although they make no mention of this on their website, it can be found in specialist cheesemongers.
• Cave des Templiers – darker, more brooding blue veins. Sometimes found pre-sliced.
• Le Bio – organic (from 38 farms). Available in pre-cut 150g packs. Billed as the most balanced of their range.

Vernières

www.roquefort-vernieres.fr
Est. 1890: 5th generation family business
52 milk producers supply them.
1,200 Tes / year production 1/3 of which is exported.

As far back as 1664-1671 the Vernières owned five of the eighteen cellars in the village of Roquefort.
Founded by Paulin Vernières in 1890 it is now owned by the 5th generation

• Vernières make only 1 cheese : “Rocabret“

Papillon

www.roquefort-papillon.com
Est. 1906, now part of the Savencia Group.
130 milk producers supply them (23 of which are organic).
2,250 Tes / year production.
Visits possible daily (Free)

The second largest manufacturer and exporter in the sector established by Paul Alric in 1906.
After the closure of the Roquefortaise bakery, they built their own refractory brick oven to bake the rye bread which is used to grow the Penicillium Roqueforti.

The cheeses:

• Rouge – their entry level produced for supermarkets.
• Révélation – a balanced and elegant style. A premium style sold in cheesemongers.
• Taste Noir – intense and unctuous. A premium style sold in cheesemongers.
• Coccinelle – a more affordable style. It has a pretty picture of a ladybird (coccinelle) on it.
• Le Bio – organic
• Non-Roquefort Cheeses (pasteurised):
  • Margalet – a small brie-like cheese.
  • Pérail – like a round goats cheese.
  • Log  – a log matured like a Tomme.
  • Tomme – aged for 9 months.

Gabriel Coulet

www.gabriel-coulet.fr
Est. 1872: 5th generation family business.
100 milk producers supply them.
2,000 Tes / year production.
Visits – Daily free tours.

History:

• 1872 cart driver Guillaume Coulet was digging a wine cellar under his house & found fleurines (natural vertical holes that ventilate the caves and make Roquefort possible). He decided to become a cheesemaker
• 1906 son Gabriel gave his name to the family business.
• Cheeses
  • La Petite Cave
  • Le Gabriel Coulet – buttery and lighter bodied.
  • Le Castelviel – stronger and lively.
  • Le Bio – organic.
  • Non-Roquefort Cheeses:
    ○ Cazelles – a bloomy rind cheese.
    ○ Brebiac – a feta style fresh cheese for salads.

Le Vieux Berger

www.le-vieux-berger.com

Est. 1923. 3rd generation family owned (the Combes family).
8 milk producers supply them.
180 Tes / year production.
Visits – Mon-Fri. Free tours.

Founded by Henri Combes in 1923 who acquired a cellar in Roquefort, and dug a 100m tunnel to connect it to the fleurine.
Le Vieux Berger is the smallest of the Roquefort manufacturers.

• Le Vieux Berger make only 1 cheese : “Le Vieux Berger“

Carles

www.roquefort-carles.fr

Est 1930ish by François Carles and now run by the 3rd generation, Delphine Carles, who set up her new dairy nearby in 2012.
15 milk producers supply them.
230 Tes / year production.
Visits available Mon-Fri.

• Carles make only 1 cheese : “Tradition“

Les Fromageries Occitanes

www.facebook.com/RoquefortLaPastourelle
Est. 1976 when breeders from the Roquefort area created the “Scaro cooperative” and acquired the cellars of Ets Alric brothers (producers of “la Pastourelle”)
170 milk producers supply them.
2,200 Tes / year production.

Les Fromageries Occitanes are the only cooperative in the Roquefort AOP.

• They produce only only 1 cheese : “La Pastourelle“

Other brands

Other brands of Roquefort can be found on the shelves of supermarkets and specialist delicatessens. All of these will be made by one of the 7 producers above.

Wine Fogg has been able to identify the following:

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