Manchego Maturado DOP | Spain | Sheep’s Milk | 12 Months Aged
250 gram wedge
Manchego Maturado is the full expression of La Mancha’s raw landscape and ancient milk traditions. Made from the milk of Manchega sheep and aged for 12 months, it’s dense, crumbly, and complex—salt crystals forming in a paste that breaks clean but melts slow. The rind bears the traditional esparto grass pattern, pressed into place before aging in cool Spanish caves.
After a year, the flavours are concentrated: toasted almond, lanolin, warm spice, and a dry, nutty sharpness. Still buttery, but with more backbone. This isn’t a mild table cheese—it’s a slice of plateau, sun, and time. Pair it with quince, almonds, or dry sherry, and it shows its age with pride.
250 gram wedge
Manchego Maturado is the full expression of La Mancha’s raw landscape and ancient milk traditions. Made from the milk of Manchega sheep and aged for 12 months, it’s dense, crumbly, and complex—salt crystals forming in a paste that breaks clean but melts slow. The rind bears the traditional esparto grass pattern, pressed into place before aging in cool Spanish caves.
After a year, the flavours are concentrated: toasted almond, lanolin, warm spice, and a dry, nutty sharpness. Still buttery, but with more backbone. This isn’t a mild table cheese—it’s a slice of plateau, sun, and time. Pair it with quince, almonds, or dry sherry, and it shows its age with pride.
250 gram wedge
Manchego Maturado is the full expression of La Mancha’s raw landscape and ancient milk traditions. Made from the milk of Manchega sheep and aged for 12 months, it’s dense, crumbly, and complex—salt crystals forming in a paste that breaks clean but melts slow. The rind bears the traditional esparto grass pattern, pressed into place before aging in cool Spanish caves.
After a year, the flavours are concentrated: toasted almond, lanolin, warm spice, and a dry, nutty sharpness. Still buttery, but with more backbone. This isn’t a mild table cheese—it’s a slice of plateau, sun, and time. Pair it with quince, almonds, or dry sherry, and it shows its age with pride.
Origin: La Mancha, Spain
Milk: Raw sheep’s milk (Manchega breed)
Rind: Natural, inedible, with traditional esparto grass imprint
Weight: Varies (~1–3kg wheels), wedges cut to order
PDO Status: Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP)
Texture: Firm, dry, crystalline
Maturation: 12 months minimum
Shape: Cylindrical, with a flat top and base
What It Is
This is the raw milk version of Spain’s iconic cheese—an unpasteurised Manchego matured for a full year. It’s a time-honoured preserve of milk, salt, and sun, produced exclusively from Manchega sheep grazing the dry plateaus of Castilla–La Mancha. The rind bears the characteristic zigzag pattern from traditional esparto grass belts used to shape it—less for flair, more for airflow and control during aging.
Aged Manchego like this isn't soft or mellow. It’s focused. The paste is compact, ivory-white, with the occasional sparkle of tyrosine crystals formed by protein breakdown. You cut it, not spread it. It crumbles and cleaves, then melts on the tongue with a slow build of lanolin, toasted cereal, and sheepy sweetness.
Taste and Texture
Rind: Natural, wax-dry, inedible. Earthy and slightly musty.
Paste: Firm, smooth, lightly brittle. Develops crystals with age.
Flavour Profile:
Nutty and sharp: almond skin, toasted wheat
Sheep milk richness: lanolin, cooked cream
Slight sweetness: caramelised butter, hay
Savoury finish: hard herbs, dry grass
These come from proteolysis (protein breakdown into savoury peptides), lipolysis (fat breakdown into free fatty acids), and complex microbial ripening driven by raw milk flora.
Pairing Logic
Aged Manchego is rich, salty, and full of umami. You want to contrast with brightness, or harmonise with nutty and honeyed tones.
Classic Pairings:
Membrillo (quince paste): sweet and acidic against the savoury fat
Fino sherry or amontillado: bone-dry salinity and light oxidation
Tempranillo or Rioja: aged red with spice and tannin to match the cheese’s intensity
Non-alcoholic:
Cold rooibos tea: gentle tannin and earthy roundness
Apple shrub or verjuice: acid-driven and crisp
Walnut milk or barley tea: to echo the cheese’s warm, nutty tones
Avoid: Soft reds or fruity whites—they get drowned. Manchego wants structure.
Serving Guidance
Bring to room temperature before serving. Slice into small wedges or shards—don’t cube. Serve with thin crackers, dried figs, or Marcona almonds. Manchego rewards slow eating.
Storage
Wrap in cheese paper or baking paper, then loosely in plastic or a container. Store in the fridge’s vegetable drawer. If it dries at the edges, trim and revive with a damp cloth before serving. Will last 2–3 weeks once cut.
Waste-Conscious Use
Grate into egg tortillas or frittatas
Shave over roasted cauliflower or pumpkin
Use the rind in broths, soups, or a paella stock base
Blitz crumbs into a crust for lamb or mushrooms
This cheese doesn’t ask to be reinvented. Just honoured.