Roquefort-sur-Soulzon

The Combalou plateau collapsed in a prehistoric landslide, leaving a mass of broken rock riddled with fissures called fleurines through which air moves constantly, keeping the caves beneath at a steady low temperature and high humidity. Roquefort is made from raw ewe's milk, mostly from Lacaune sheep, inoculated with Penicillium roqueforti, and by law it can only be ripened in these cellars, which is why every wheel in the world comes from one village. A charter of 1411 from Charles VI gave the villagers the monopoly on the name, making it one of the oldest protected foods anywhere. Several producers run cellar visits with tasting.

History

Prehistoric remains have been found within the commune, notably in the Taulan cave, where a sandstone millstone of the Middle Neolithic, between 4500 and 3300 BC, now in the Musée Fenaille in Rodez, was found. The village's history is bound up with its cheese: in 1411 letters patent of Charles VI protected local production, a charter of Charles VII strengthened it in 1457, and on 31 August 1666 the Parlement of Toulouse recognised the sole right of the people of Roquefort to ripen cheese in the village caves and set penalties for counterfeits. A law of 26 July 1925 made Roquefort the first cheese with an appellation d'origine contrôlée, reserving the name for cheese made from sheep's milk and matured here by local custom (Wikipedia, Roquefort-sur-Soulzon).

What's there

• The fleurines - natural fissures ventilating the cellars year-round.
• The ripening cellars - wheels racked on oak in the cold and damp.
• The cave visits - producers explaining the mould and the ageing.
• The Combalou cliff - the collapsed plateau the village sits under.

When to go

Year-round; the cellars stay cold whatever the season, so this works well on a hot day. Visits run more frequently in summer. Take a warm layer.

Before you go

Cellars are around eight to ten degrees and damp. Tours are guided, timed and end in a shop. The village itself is a single street with little else to see.

Nearby

Millau lies north; La Couvertoirade is southeast on the Larzac.