The Cheese cellar
The Cheese cellar is the heart of Campo Sasso. This is where the magic of cheese aging happens, and where Pierre spends a large part of his time looking after each cheese as they mature, making sure they sit in just the right environment, temperature, and humidity.
“You have to be romantic to invest yourself, your money, and your time in cheese.”
–Anthony Bourdain
The Art of French Cheese Affinage in Tuscany: The Story of Campo Sasso's Signature Cheeses
For centuries, French cheesemakers have understood a simple truth: a cheese is not finished when it leaves the dairy. It is only beginning its journey.
Affinage—the art of maturation—is the process through which a young cheese develops its texture, aromas, rind and personality. While the cheesemaker creates the cheese, it is often the affineur who reveals its full potential. Temperature, humidity, airflow, salt, native microflora and time become the tools through which a cheese gradually expresses itself.
This philosophy has been embodied for generations by the great French affineurs, among whom Hervé and Laurent Mons have become internationally recognized references. Their approach to cheese maturation has inspired countless cheesemakers and affineurs around the world, including Pierre Gouttenoire.
For Pierre, this connection is both professional and deeply personal. It is rooted in a family relationship that stretches back more than forty years. His uncle, Paul Gardère, a respected cheese merchant based in Saint-Étienne, worked closely with the parents of Hervé and Laurent Mons long before the Mons family became one of the most respected names in French cheese maturation.
Over the years, Pierre had the opportunity to learn the fundamental principles of affinage through the teachings, guidance and generous support of Hervé and Laurent Mons. Beyond technical knowledge, they transmitted a philosophy: that the role of the affineur is not to transform a cheese into something else, but to help it become the finest version of itself.
Today, this philosophy lives on in the cellars of Campo Sasso, where French maturation principles meet Tuscan milk, Tuscan landscapes and Tuscan producers.
The Caves Bâtardes of Campo Sasso
At Campo Sasso, cheese maturation takes place in what Pierre likes to call "caves bâtardes".
The name is a tribute to the historic natural caves once found beneath the Larzac plateau in southern France. For generations, these caves were used to mature sheep's milk cheeses before the development of the modern Roquefort appellation. Many disappeared during the twentieth century as production became increasingly centralized.
The caves of Campo Sasso are not a reproduction of those ancient spaces. Instead, they seek to revive their spirit: creating a living environment where cheeses evolve naturally through the interaction of temperature, humidity and native microflora.
Within these cellars, each cheese follows its own path.
The four signature cheeses of Campo Sasso illustrate four different approaches to the art of affinage.
Affinage as a Living Heritage
At Campo Sasso, affinage is more than a technical process.
It is a way of preserving and regenerating knowledge.
It creates connections between producers and affineurs, between France and Tuscany, between traditional techniques and contemporary tastes.
Every cheese begins with the expertise of an artisan producer. Through maturation, it acquires a second story—one written by time, by the cellar and by the hands of the affineur.
In this sense, cheese affinage is not simply the final stage of cheesemaking.
It is the moment when a cheese truly finds its voice.
Campo Sasso Signature Cheeses
Aged by Pierre Gouttenoire
