García Baquero Manchego 150g

Manchego is Spain's most recognisable cheese, a protected designation of origin cheese from La Mancha made with milk from Manchega sheep. It is firm, ivory to pale yellow, and carries the sweet, nutty, faintly tangy character that sheep's milk gives, with the woven basket pattern pressed into the rind that has become the cheese's signature.

García Baquero has been making cheese in La Mancha since 1962, from a base in Alcázar de San Juan, working closely with local farmers and paying attention to every stage from milk selection through to final ripening.

Serve it at room temperature, cut into wedges, with quince paste, Marcona almonds and good bread. It is the natural partner for Rioja, Ribera del Duero and dry sherry, all of which Ralph's stocks alongside it. This is a 150g piece, sized for a cheeseboard for two or three rather than a party.