The growth of gas bubbles is a key phenomenon occurring in Swiss-type cheeses and is of growing interest for the cheesemakers. To achieve a better understanding of the formation of eyes in cheese, comprehensive knowledge of the mechanical properties of cheese is required. The aim of this study is to build a mechanical model to investigate the rheological properties of cheese over time, as cheese is subject to noticeable changes during ripening. Cheese samples were tested by means of a compression-relaxation method. The relaxation of the stress appeared to be quite slow (taking more than 60 ks). The rheological test was then reproduced numerically and the mechanical behaviour of the cheese was expressed with help of a viscoelastic Maxwell model with three elements. The parameters of the model, relaxation time constants (ranging from 2 seconds to several thousands of seconds) and elastic moduli (ranging from 100 to 350 kPa) were fitted on the experimental data and turned out to decrease during the ripening process (the drop ranges from 40 to 90% between the beginning and the end of the ripening, depending on the parameter). The evolution of the viscoelastic properties of cheese is detailed and further discussed. The proposed model is able to describe the rheological behaviour of the cheese properly, and encourages further investigation (i) on the validation of the model on an ideal, mechanical-only situation; and (ii) on the other phenomena implicated in bubble growth, such as gas production in the cheese and its transport by gas diffusion.