Comte de Champagne Double Cream Brie from France

Comte de Champagne Double Cream Brie

I was shopping in Starsky’s market in Mississauga (Ontario, Canada) when I came across Comte de Champagne Double Cream Brie. I tend to think of Brie as generic. I wondered, are all Brie’s alike? Is French Brie better than a Canadian Brie style cheese like Riopelle.

I did some internet searching and had difficulty finding information about the producer of Comte de Champagne. I discovered that despite the variety of Bries, the French government officially certifies only two types of cheese to be sold under that name: Brie de Meaux and Brie de Melun. Hmmm … the Comte de Champagne is clearly labelled Brie and it is imported from France. I’m a little confused about the world of Brie.

More internet searching revealed the name “Comtes De Champagne” is a brand of Champagne produce by Taittinger. I’m even more confused about this Comte de Champagne cheese. Is it related to the Taittinger Champagne in some way?

Taittinger Champagne Label

I hope somebody in France, reading this blog, can provide some more information on the Comte de Champagne Brie.

I expected this to be some famous Brie that I had yet to discover. But the lack of online information makes this one of the most mysterious cheeses I have come across.  So goes it with cheese adventuring.

Comte de Champagne French Brie

What does Comtes De Champagne Double Cream Brie taste like? – It tastes like Brie. My point is that it does taste generic to me. I have concluded that there is nothing special or unique about this Brie. It’s Brie.  It’s good.  But I’m not sure if you lined up several Brie’s that I could differentiate this one. Maybe that’s the way the French want it. Maybe the objective is consistency … if so then I say good job, the Comte de Champagnes upholds the Brie standard.

So far, when it comes to “Brie Style” cheese, I prefer the Canadian Riopelle that I tried a few weeks ago. But it might be a little unfair to compare this Brie to the Riopelle. It is an “apples and oranges” comparison. The Riopelle is a triple cream surfaced ripened cheese. I enjoy rich and creamy so my bias is toward the triple cream over the double cream hence the Riopelle over the Comte de Champagne.

To be clear … this French Brie is good. It is exactly what I expected when I bought it. What I got was a classic Brie. If that’s what you are looking for then here it is.

Store refrigerated but warm it to room temperature for serving.