A soft, white-crusted, triple cream cow's milk cheese. It was created around 1890 as 'Excelsior' or 'Délice des gourmets' but renamed in the 1930s as an homage to the 18th-century French gourmet and political figure Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.

Brillat-Savarin is produced all year round mainly in Burgundy. It comes in 12–13 cm wide and approximately 4 cm thick wheels and is aged for 1 to 2 weeks. It is also available as a fresh cheese (non affiné) that resembles rich cream cheese.

A matured Brillat-Savarin has a typical white, bloomy rind with an interior paste that is buttery-white in colour. The texture is dense, moist and slightly chalky with enough lusciousness and creaminess for a triple cream cheese. Flavours are of butter, salt and cream with hints of mushroom, nuts and truffles with a faintly sour edge.