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Good Taste: Yellow Springs Red Leaf

Yellow Springs has made a name for itself in Chester Springs with aged goat cheeses that exude subtle complexity.

But their unique sense of place is also unmistakable, and not only because of the natural yeasts and molds floating around the 160-year-old fieldstone barn where Al and Catherine Renzi have made their farmstead cheeses for the last four years.

Al also takes cues from his farm's bounty, like the black walnuts (soaked in Nocino liqueur) for his Nutcracker.

But my favorite is Red Leaf, an unusual firm puck aged inside native sycamore leaves soaked in red wine.

The cheese is unwrapped for the final week, allowing the crust to dry into a powdery gray edible rind, with an earthiness that frames the richness of the milk. Pair with a quince paste or chutney, and the wine's long-gone fruit returns like an echo.


Yellow Springs Red Leaf, $18 per half-pound round, Fair Food stand, Reading Terminal Market; go to www.yellowspringsfarm.com) for May farm-visit days.