By now the critics have spoken. We know the year’s best movies, books, albums and restaurants. But who will speak for the cheese? I shared my own favorite tastes from the past 12 months in last week’s post. This week, some of the nation’s top mongers weigh in. These front-line folks are going to tell us what their customers flipped over. I also asked them what cheeses in their shop deserve more love than they got. Sometimes even a fabulous cheese fails to find an audience.

I asked retailers two fill-in-the-blank questions: What new cheese at their counter flew out the door this year? And what cheese do they wish customers loved as much as they do? Here are their answers, lightly edited.

Kara McGrath, Owner, Cheesemonger

Paste & Rind
Washington, DC

Honey Bell from Valley Milkhouse (PA) was new at our counter and flew out the door. It’s a bloomy-rind cow’s milk cheese with dried chamomile flowers on the rind. Customers love its sweet, floral notes and luscious, cheesecakey texture.

I wish my customers liked Swallow Tail Tomme from Stony Pond Farm (VT) as much as I do. Made from the raw milk of grass-fed cows, it’s a gorgeous cheese cast in a basket-weave mold, with a dappled natural rind. The flavor is lactic and buttery, with an earthy, cavey, almost cauliflower-au-gratin type finish.

Jeffery Mitchell

Culpeper Cheese Company
Culpeper, VA

Withersbrook Blue from Jasper Hill was new and flew out the door. Black pepper aromas yield to cider sweetness on the palate and satisfying crystalline bits. The nearly creamy consistency makes it an easy topping for string beans, grilled meats or a salted caramel sundae.

I wish my customers liked Tomme aux Fleurs as much as I do. This Swiss raw-milk cheese has earthy funk with a sweet side. It’s crusted with dried herbs and has deep B. linens aromas contrasted with herbaceous aromatics. Add it to scrambled eggs, toast it on a baguette or dice it for a salad.

Brandon Wood

The Cheese Parlor
Livermore, CA

I’m going to give you a few. We sold tons of Beecher’s Flagship 4-Year Cheddar. And Bufarolo from Quattro Portoni is a unique Italian water buffalo cheese. Customers say they can taste the grass. Lastly, Smorbier from High Lawn Farm (MA), a play on Morbier with red pepper instead of ash down the center. Holy smokes, it was good.

I wish my customers liked washed-rind cheeses as much as I do. Foxglove (pictured at top of post) from Tulip Tree Creamery (IN) and Prufrock from The Grey Barn (MA) come to mind. Customers like the look, but the smell turns them off before they even try it.

Sarah Tovar and Rachel deBerardinis, buyers

Venissimo Cheese
Multiple San Diego-area locations

Moser Screamer was new at our counter this year. Many customers had never tried a Swiss "Brie-style" cheese before and were excited to find that it was different from French and domestic varieties. The rind is much thinner and the flavor is funkier.

We wish our customers liked blue cheeses as much as we do. They may all look the same, but you can find so many different tastes and textures in the world of blue cheese. Our current favorite is Ellie's Vintage 2-Year Reserve from Shaft's Cheese (WI). It is super fudgy in texture and rich and tangy in flavor.

Sarah Simms

Lady & Larder
Los Angeles

Mini Quinta and Fennel Blue were new from Point Reyes Farmstead (CA). Customers loved the smaller size of the Quinta (cute, and friendly price point) and the Fennel Blue surprised even the most discerning blue cheese lovers. The fennel seed flavor plus the texture and crunch of the seeds - delightful!