Locheilan Triple Cream

Locheilan Farmhouse Cheese is located in Wunghun about 200 kilometers north of Melbourne, not far from Shepparton. We've enjoyed quite a bit of their cheese in the past so it is quite surprising that I've yet to mention them on this site - so today I right that wrong with a decadent triple cream!

Cheesemarker: Locheilan Farmhouse Cheese

Cheese Name: Triple Cream

Location: 754 Central Mundoona Road, Wunghnu

Open for visits and sales - Wednesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm; other days by appointment

Web: Locheilan

It has a washed rind character about it, in relation to the aroma and those hints of orange underneath the white mould. The milk all comes form their farm, a herd made up of mostly Friesians with some Jersey cross-breads.



This cheese has about a month until it's BBD so it isn't yet showing those runny characteristics that come with a fully matured round. If you look inside the cheese you can see those changes starting, the internal core is lighter in colour.



It's best to let the cheese come to room temperature - on a hot day that does not mean you allow it to get hot, please use a little common sense here. It will soften somewhat even at this stage and the flavours and aromas are much more pronouced. A triple cream will reward you with fabulous mouth feel - the rich,creamy flavour coating and filling your mouth.

King Island Discovery Ash Brie

It's back to Tasmania for another offering from King Island - this time it's an ash coated brie



Cheese Maker - King Island Dairy
Cheese Type - Discovery Ash Brie


The ash sits underneath the typical white mould covering of the appearing, giving hints of its presence through those dark speckles.


Once cut you'll see that the ash forms continuous coating surrounding the cheese. The cheese itself has a deep golden colour, a semi-soft band runs through the center. This is certainly a firmer style of brie.


Tastewise, its pleasantly creamy, with nutty notes, the ash itself has a subtle influence on the flavour.

Maffra Dargo Walnut

It's another first for this site - time to explore one of those nefarious "orange cheeses".

Cheese Maker: Maffra Cheese Company
Cheese Name: Maffra Dargo Walnut

The dairy is not open to the public but contact information and details on where you can buy the cheese can be found on their website.

Growing up I used to look at this types of cheese with suspicion, they just didn't look natural. Luckily we grow up and realise we shouldn't base everything on appearance.

The Dargo Walnut is based on that famous English cheese, Red Leicester and in fact, Maffra also produces a plain Red Leicester. The colour is natural and comes from annatto seeds though it can be a source of allergic reactions so it is certainly something you would need to keep in mind.

Red Leicester is a cheddar like cheese, quite mild and softly textured. In this cheese, local walnuts sourced from Dargo have been added, their flavour infusing the milk.


Apparently as the cheese matures, the walnuts will release their oils and create a marbled pattern in the cheese. This is quite a young version so that marbling hasn't developed.



The walnuts add both a crunch and mealiness which are really interesting textural elements to what is a fairly smooth cheese.

South Cape Blue Cheese

Time for a change of pace - where previous cheeses are more the artisan type that can be a bit difficult to find, this next offering is much more readily available and found in most supermarkets. Produced by National Foods, this is South Cape Blue Cheese.


You can't miss it's distinctive blue wrapper - it's packaged as a 150 gram rectangle.


There's a slightly sticky rind on two of the long edges as well as the top and bottom, the cheese itself has a slightly mottled toning, moving from pale to dark cream.


I was actually quite surprised and pleased by the depth and variety of moulding, from crevices to deep dark holes. For something that is so commercial, it is good to see that they are trying to offer something with some character.


Tastewise, it is surprising good - it has bite coupled with creaminess and just enough saltiness to accentuate the flavour.

Red Hill Portsea Picnic

This is the goat milk version of Sorrento Picnic


Cheese Maker: Red Hill Cheese
Cheese: Portsea Picnic
Location: 81 William Road (Off Arthurs Seat Road), Red Hill
Cellar Door: Open weekends & public holidays Noon-5pm (except Christmas, Boxing Day & Good Friday)

While it may be shaped exactly like the Sorrento Picnic, once unwrapped the differences become more obvious


That white to beige rind carries a saffron hue that's slightly sticky in parts.


Once cut we observe a much paler coloured cheese. The taste is fresh with a slight tang, reminiscent of a mild cheddar. When we sampled the portsea and sorrento together on the cheese platter, we thought that this Portsea was the better of the two.

Red Hill Fingal Gold

I must preface this post by saying that at the moment, there isn't much stock available when in comes to washed rinds.



Cheese Maker: Red Hill Cheese
Cheese: Fingal Gold
Location: 81 William Road (Off Arthurs Seat Road), Red Hill
Cellar Door: Open weekends & public holidays Noon-5pm (except Christmas, Boxing Day & Good Friday)

There must be something about using gold wrappers when it comes to washed rind - discovery scrubbed brie and goldenbelle both utilise similar wrappings. Regardless of choice, there's always something wonderful about unwrapping a cheese like this, it's your nose that gets the first indication of what is in store.


The skin is a little fairer in colour compared to others but this is also a while off from reaching full maturation (use by date is september!)


This hasn't been out of the fridge for very long so it's a lot firmer than I would expect.


With aging you'll see that softening around the edges continue to move towards the center.



At the moment, it's quite mild in flavour but still has a lovely creaminess in the mouth.