So little time, so much to taste.

Our Gastronomad Barcelona Experience headed straight to the cava country’s best affineur, called Xerigots. (An affineur is someone who ages cheese. The dairy farmer makes the cheese, and the affineur brings it to perfection through temperature, humidity, proper handling and time.)

Xerigots’ owner Jordi hosted us, and Victor gave us insights into Xerigot’s history, cheese and facility.

Xerigots is located near the old railway station where trainloads of cava were bottled, packed and shipped out of this region and into France and elsewhere, especially during the mid-19th Century Great French Wine Blight.

Cava is stored in underground tiled caverns, and Xerigots ages cheeses in modified caverns. Individual tanks can be controlled for temperature and humidity. We got an exclusive, up-close look inside these caverns.

Xierigots is an extremely high-quality affineur; they select cheeses from various places in France and Spain, age them to perfection, then sell them to restaurants and also to the public.

After our exclusive tour of the aging rooms, we sat down for a guided progressive tasting (progressing from mildest to strongest) with Jordi, along with the obligatory cava, which paired flawlessly with the full range of cheeses we sampled.

If you ever encounter Xerigots’ cheese, do yourself a favor and buy all you can.