Langres

Langres is a soft, interior-ripened cow's milk cheese produced on the Langres plateau and the pastures of Bassigny, in Haute-Marne, Côte-d'Or, and Vosges. Its rind is smooth, lightly wrinkled, and golden yellow to reddish-brown after maturation. The upper surface carries a depression greater than 5 mm in depth. The cheese is never turned more than twice during drainage.

About this designation

Registered as a PDO on 21 June 1996 under file number PDO-FR-0121 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000012904), Langres is made exclusively from renneted cow's milk that is neither concentrated nor reconstituted. The milk must be produced, and the cheese manufactured and matured, within a defined geographical area covering the districts of Chaumont and Langres in Haute-Marne, the canton of Neufchâteau in Vosges, and four named municipalities in Côte-d'Or. The geographical area sits entirely on a Jurassic substratum at an average altitude of between 400 and 500 metres above sea level. The cheese comes in three sizes: large, made in a mould of between 16 and 20 cm in diameter and weighing between 800 and 1 300 g; medium, made in a mould of between 9 and 10 cm in diameter and weighing between 280 and 350 g; and small, made in a mould of between 7 and 8 cm in diameter and weighing between 150 and 250 g. Fat content must be at least 50 % of dry matter, and dry matter content must exceed 42 %. Coagulation lasts between two-and-a-half and five-and-a-half hours. Maturation takes place in a humid atmosphere for between 15 and 21 days depending on size. At least 80 % of the dry matter of the total annual feed ration must come from within the geographical area. All labelled cheeses must display the name of the designation of origin with the words 'Appellation d'origine' and bear the European Union 'AOP' logo.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 21 June 1996 under file number PDO-FR-0121, eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000012904.
• The upper surface of each cheese must carry a depression greater than 5 mm in depth; the cheese is turned no more than twice during drainage.
• At least 80 % of the dry matter of the total annual feed ration for the dairy herd must originate from within the geographical area.
• The specification permits no milk that has been concentrated, reconstituted, or stored below zero degrees centigrade.

Tasting notes

Champagne cow's milk washed-rind soft cheese with distinctive bowl-shaped depression on top ("la fontaine", traditionally filled with Champagne or Marc). Bright orange-rust rind, ivory paste, semi-soft creamy texture, intensely aromatic with farmyard notes, tangy-savory flavor.

HoReCa use

Langres is traditionally served on a plateau de fromages and is associated with the practice of filling the upper depression with Champagne or Marc de Champagne at table.

Packaging

• wheel-full-180g or 800g
• gift-pack-twin-360g