Made in the Loire Valley in central France, a famed area for the production of goat cheeses, Pouligny Saint-Pierre is sometimes referred to as the Pyramid or the Eiffel Tower because of its truncated pyramidal shape.

Production takes place under AOC regulations (granted in 1976) that protect the name of the cheese. Cheeses may be either fermier or industrial in production, but regulations state the necessity of a slow, lactic coagulation of the milk and the minimal use of rennet.

The interior of the cheese is bone-white in the center, which, with age, becomes more translucent under the rind.

The texture is extremely fine, dense, smooth and slightly crumbly. Aromas are quite pungent and while the rind is fairly dry when young, after a period of about four weeks it tends to become sticky and redder in color and have a more bumpy texture.

Flavors are balanced and slightly goaty, becoming more pronounced with age. A sweetness is also balanced by salt, with hints of hay, grass, cellar and earth.

Pairs well with a Pouilly Fume or other white wine of depth.