The Cellars of the Fort Saint Antoine
The Cathedral of Comté
In 1966, Marcel Petite discovered a defunct military fort in a forest of Haut Doubs, at 3600 feet altitude. The fort’s structure of cut and vaulted stone, covered with a thick layer of soil, provides ideal conditions for “Affinage Lent” (Slow Maturing). Petite realized that his Comtés should be aged in their natural environment, near the mountain cheese dairies where they are made. Today, over 100,000 wheels are ripened for 10 to 20 months, in the Cathedral of Marcel Petite Comté.