Cote Hill Blue and blackberry mead

It’s not often that food and drink that goes together perfectly turns up at exactly the same time but serendipitously I was sent a selection of delicious meads last week just as my order of blue cheese from The Courtyard Dairy arrived.

The combination I thought went best was Cote Blue, a gorgeous gooey unpasteurised Brie-style blue from Market Rasen in Lincolnshire with an absolutely delicious blackberry mead from a Welsh producer called Afon Mêl.

Obviously it followed the established pattern of pairing berry flavoured drinks with a blue but was a more unusual match than the usual port and stilton combination.

I haven’t been particularly taken with the meads I’ve tasted in the past, finding them too sweet and heavy but this was fresh, delicate and really moreish. I was thinking it would go well with a blackberry and apple crumble then found they suggested actually adding it to one which I imagine would be REALLY good.

The blue (which was perfectly matured - as always from Courtyard) was also stunning with a 2016 Prophet’s Rock pinot from their Home vineyard in New Zealand's Central Otago region but then what isn’t?

For other blue cheese pairings see What kind of wine goes with blue cheese?