• 2.2 lb wheel of Manchego cheese
• Young and mild, aged for 3 months
• Prized cheese of Spain!

This young pasteurized Manchego cheese is a part of a remarkable family of sheep's milk cheeses from La Mancha. The Villajos family has created an extraordinary line of cheeses due to cheese making skills learned from generations past, their limited family production and meticulous attention to detail. (more info)

• 2.2 lb wheel of Manchego cheese
• Young and mild, aged for 3 months
• Prized cheese of Spain!

This young pasteurized Manchego cheese is a part of a remarkable family of sheep's milk cheeses from La Mancha. The Villajos family has created an extraordinary line of cheeses due to cheese making skills learned from generations past, their limited family production and meticulous attention to detail.

Around the tiny town of Porzuna, thousands of sheep of the Manchega breed are shepherded through the rolling countryside eating grasses and herbs. Their life of exercise and variety, makes not only for happy sheep, but also for a rich milk full of the herbal flavors of the plains of La Mancha.

This unbelievably rich milk is then churned by hand, and fashioned into cheese wheels, one by one, under the watchful eye of Beni, the master cheese maker in the tiny Villajos factory. Our Villajos semi-cured Manchego is carefully aged for 6 months until the rind is a natural golden color, and the taste sings with the subtle flavors of the countryside. It earned the Gran Selección Silver Medal over all other Manchegos in 2005.

How different from the industrial Manchego cheese you may see at your supermarket! The animals are not confined to livestock yards eating hay. The raw material does not have a bland mass-market taste. And the resulting cheese is not painted with green or brown food coloring to make them look artisan.

Their flagship cheese was awarded four Gran Selección prizes in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006 by the regional Government of Castilla -- La Mancha. It is a hitherto unheard of accomplishment.

Our Villajos semi-aged Manchego has a firm but creamy texture with a pleasant sharpness. Serve it with jamón serrano, apple slices or membrillo preserve. A dry white wine is an ideal accompaniment.

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