DONATO PETITJACQUES - BIONAZ (AO) - VALLE D'AOSTA

The Plan Vaion alpine pasture where Donato Petitjacques is based is located in Bionaz, a tiny municipality in the Aosta Valley on the Swiss border, at an altitude of 2,578 metres. Here, for just four weeks a year, Donato produces Estrema d'Alpeggio: a cheese born at high altitude where the cows - about 70 head of the Valdostana breed - are fed exclusively on fresh grass and water and milked twice a day. A very limited production of 6 to 8 wheels per day, amounting to around 200 in total at the end of the stay at altitude, which justifies its price and its uniqueness that must be protected and spread. The cows (Pezzata Rossa, Pezzata Nera and Castana) stay from June to September in the alpine pastures located at altitude (called TSA') and this allows them to feed on grass, flowers and drink from the natural streams and resurgences that they find in the surroundings without any addition of other food. The richness of the Alpine pasture flora thus translates into exceptional organoleptic properties that benefit the unmistakable taste and flavour of this product. The result is a semi-cooked, sweet and very melting fat cheese that smells of cooked butter and pasture, while in the mouth it offers distinct notes of hazelnut, mountain herbs, flowers and cellar