Valençay cheese is one of the most distinctive products of the Loire Valley — a small, truncated pyramid of aged goat's milk cheese with an ash-grey rind and a creamy, lightly tangy interior. It carries its own AOC designation, which means it must be made within a defined zone of the Berry and Touraine using the milk of local goats.
The story most often told is that the cheese was once made as a proper four-sided pyramid, but Napoleon — freshly back from his disastrous Egyptian campaign — lopped off the top with his sword rather than be reminded of the pyramids he had failed to conquer. The story is probably apocryphal, but it has stuck. You can buy Valençay direct from producers and at the cheese shops in town; a ripe one, eaten with a baguette and a glass of Touraine Sauvignon Blanc, is one of the genuine pleasures of the region.