Visit the cave of La Leze and taste one of the most awarded cheeses of the plains of Alava.
The family formed by José Mari Jauregi, Elisabeth Gorrotxategi and their sons Arkaitz and Gaizka, decided in 1992 to leave behind the way of life they had been leading to start a way of life deeply rooted in our land, the shepherding and the elaboration of handmade cheese. La Leze cheese factory creates cheeses based on the millenary elaboration process of our ancestors under the Idiazabal denomination of origin. Don’t miss our argumentation to classify La Leze cheese factory as unique, keep reading!
Nightfall in the Alavese plains
7 characteristics that make La Leze cheese dairy unique
History: The father of the family, José Mari Jauregi, combined his work in the Basque industry with his hobby of shepherding until 1992, when the whole family decided to change their way of life and bet on the rural environment and its development.
José Mari and Elisabeth, La Leze
The Artzai Gazta association, the Idiazabal Denomination of Origin and the Sheep Association of Alava (Agorala) supported them from the beginning, a help that is essential for this profession in low times. Although they took over the reins of the flock in 1992, they did not begin to produce La Leze cheese until 1996, since until then they used all the milk from their sheep for sale. The hard work carried out since 1992 had its first fruits in the 90’s, but it was in 2008 when they began to stand out in the great Basque cheese and sheepdog competitions.
Location: Located in an emblematic place of the plains of Alava, the cheese factory La Leze is located a few meters from the cave of the same name. A natural space of great beauty, visited annually by thousands of mountain and nature lovers. Ilarduia, the village where La Leze cheese factory is located, marks the entrance to the Aizgorri-Aratz Natural Park, an environment that enchants all those who visit it.
The flock: The La Leze flock is made up of 400 Latxa blond-faced sheep, one of the most popular native breeds of the Basque Country and Navarre. This flock gives color to the pastures around the cave of La Leze, sheep from which one of the best cheeses in the Basque Country is obtained.
La Leze herd at dusk
This flock feeds on the surrounding pastures supplemented with cereals from January to August, the months in which La Leze cheese is produced. From August to December the sheep graze freely in the Sierra de Altzaina.
The elaboration: At La Leze cheese factory they make their cheeses starting with raw milk from their sheep and natural rennet from their lambs, two high quality raw materials that make this cheese one of the best in our land. Nowadays it is difficult to find cheeses made with natural rennet, since most producers use synthetic rennet in their production processes. From La Leze, they point out that their secret to make a product of this quality is based on the use of their own raw materials which are subject to an exhaustive control.
La Leze cheese production
The fact that they produce their own raw materials such as rennet and milk, limits the production of La Leze cheese, but they achieve unique flavors, aromas and textures. When the production process is maintained for hundreds of years, it is a symptom that it works, that it is liked, knowing this, in La Leze they keep alive this way of making a good cheese.
- Milk: Milk from their flock of lax sheep, fed on hay and cereal produced on the farm itself and fed on the surrounding pastures from January to August.
- Coagulation: It is carried out by means of NATURAL rennet from its own lambs.
- Molding: It is carried out with molds lined with cloth and placed in the press for approximately 5 hours and then left in brine.
Tasting: Experts describe it as a cheese with a balance of spicy, sweet and acid flavors, a cheese with a lot of personality, intense and with some natural rennet flavor. Without so much experience or knowledge in Idiazabal cheese tasting we can only say that we thought it was a great cheese, with a lot of flavor and a remarkable texture…..What a smell! we are in love with it.
La Leze Cheese
La Leze products: La Leze maintains in its list of products, all kinds of food from its herd.
- Idiazabal D.O. cheese with natural and/or smoked rind
- Zumitz or green label (higher quality than Idiazabal D.O. but not supreme).
- Latxa or black label (supreme quality)
- Gaztazaharra or cream cheese
- Suckling lamb and milk
- Ardiki Gorria, or sheep sausage (traditional recipe of the shepherds of the Basque Country).
The two varieties of cheese, Zumitz and Latxa, are obtained by subjecting certain batches of cheese to rigorous organoleptic controls by members of the tasting committee of the Idiazabal D.O. who, together with the shepherds, determine whether they are considered of extra quality (Zumitz) or supreme quality (Latxa). These units are sold by whole pieces and with a quality certificate.
Awards: The La Leze cheese factory has so many awards in its cheese factory that at this rate it is going to have to take space away from the sheep in order to expand the “txoko” where it makes the sale of cheeses and where they keep most of their trophies.
La Leze Awards
You can see the list of prizes they have on the website of La Leze cheeses.
Buy cheeses online: Being 100% artisan cheeses, not all cheeses have the same weight and price, a feature that makes it difficult to sell online. However, it is possible to buy their cheeses by phone, they are responsible for sending it to your home.
From La Leze they recommend us to taste their cheeses at room temperature and accompanied by a good Crianza from Rioja Alavesa, we, as obedient people that we are, comply with all their recommendations, yes, we tasted them quietly on our trip through the villages of the Navarre Pyrenees along with Ronkari cheese from Roncal Denomination of Origin, two cheeses of great quality, two cheeses that create dependence.
La Leze and Ronkari cheese
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