Portumna
Rich depth of flavour, sweet caramelly, butterscotch tones.
Marion Roeleveld is regarded as one of the finest Gouda makers in the world. She’s won more medals than Michael Phelps!
Usually her attention is concentrated on her celebrated Goats’ Gouda Killeen, for which she won supreme champion at The Artisan Cheese Awards in 2026.
But just very occasionally, when the season is perfect, and the milk is just so, she turns her attention to cows’ milk.
Portumna is the result.
This batch was reserved by The Courtyard Dairy last summer, and then has been specially aged for 14 months, to give it the rich depth of flavour and sweet caramelly, butterscotch tones that you’d associate with the very best aged Dutch Goudas – those that rarely leave the Netherlands.
Awarded:
When visiting Ireland several years ago, Marion Roeleveld fell in love with the place (and a particular goat farmer called Haske). Haske farmed around 40 goats in the small village of Killeen and was supplying the milk to the local creamery. In 2004 Marion relocated to Ireland from Holland.
Dutch by birth, Marion grew up on a dairy farm and had studied how to make cheese at agricultural school. Using these skills, she developed a cheese in a style she knew – Gouda. Killeen Goats’ Gouda was born. Goats’ milk is more frequently used to make smaller, fresher cheeses, as it is such delicate milk. Making Gouda from goats’ milk, therefore, is quite unusual.
Her next-door neighbour and friend farms cows. In the summer when the cows are all out on grass and their milk is in fine swing, Marion makes the occasional batch of cows’ Gouda from it.
Gouda cheeses have the curd washed, removing acidity, which gives Marion’s cheeses a unique style and taste – slightly sweet, nutty and caramelly.
Key Facts
| Attributes |
|---|
| Pasteurised |
| Cows' Milk |
| Suitable in Pregnancy |
