With its gnarly blue-grey rind, Selles sur Cher looks like something scary found at the back of my fridge. But don’t be fooled, cut through its wrinkly outer and you’ll find the bright white of a goats cheese.

This is a delicious young cheese, its almost brain-like rind is not a blue mould, its the result of ash and salt sprinkled over the cheese. And it was just what I needed today to remind me that despite the rain and cold, spring is on its way.

Goats milk cheeses to me signal spring and summer in a way no other cheeses do. Not only because of their bright clean flavour, light and cooling in the heat but also because many artisan goats milk cheese makers give their girls a break over winter.

Delicate and lemony, the Selles sur Cher transported me to warmer days, sitting outside sipping Sauvignon Blanc. It has a light sweetness, with almost floral notes, giving way to a gentle piquancy, with not a sniff of goaty barnyard to be found.

The rind is thin and ever-so-slightly salty and I recommend you eat it. I love the chalkiness of goats cheese, the way its fine texture catches on your tongue, lingering around your mouth.

Selles sur Cher is a French cheese from Loir-et-Cher in the Loire Valley. It’s an old cheese with a recipe dating back to at least the 12th Century. The story goes that the Saracens from Syria left their goats and the recipes for making cheese in the region of Poitiers during the 8th Century.

I’m loving eating goats cheese with a hop-driven beer like an IPA, and of course Sauvignan Blanc is delicious too.