This year's competition saw judges nibble over 900 cheeses to find 22 category winners.
A Real Yorkshire Wensleydale Blue (pictured above) has scooped the Supreme Champion prize at this year’s British Cheese Awards. The champion cheese is made by Wensleydale Dairy Products in Hawes, Yorkshire.
It was described by the judges as having a “densely compact slightly dry texture that soon becomes almost velvety in the mouth, with well-spread threads of silvery blue that melt in the mouth releasing their spicy but surprisingly mild blue tang that hints of cocoa”.
The awards were dished out on the eve of the Great British Cheese Festival in Cardiff. Judges nibbled over 900 entries from over 200 cheesemakers before selecting the winners in 22 categories.
Category winners
The category winners included:
Best English cheese – Long Clawson Dairy’s Claxton Shropshire Blue (“Spicy but not as strong as Stilton”)
Best Scottish cheese – Seriously Strong Vintage Cheddar (“Firm, dense almost chewy texture and strong, forthright sweet-savoury tang with a big fruity finish”)
Best Welsh cheese – Perl Las Organic (“Stronger than Stilton with a snappish, peppery bite and a sea breeze salty finish”)
Best Irish cheese – Kileen Goat Extra Mature (“Handmade to a Gouda recipe using milk from their own herd of goats. Beneath the pale orange rind is a dense, compact pale ivory interior with superb savoury reminiscent of Marmite that goes on and on”)
Best Cheddar – Ashley Cheese Estate Cave Aged Vintage Cheddar (“Fruity with sweet notes balanced by a more savoury tang on the finish”)
Best Goat's Cheese – Knockdrinna Gold (“Supple but dense it has a fresh acidity with a distinctly almondy taste”)
Best Traditional British Cheese – Quickes’ Traditional Unpasteurised Cheddar (“It has the classic chewy, biteable cheddar texture and more importantly a classic savoury not sweet taste”)
Best Territorial – Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire (“Rich, complex and savoury with the bite of raw onions”)
A third of the cheeses entered received either a gold, silver or bronze medal.
The judging panel included cheese experts, chefs and journalists. For more information on the awards and to see all the winners, go to the British Cheese Awards website.
What are your favourite cheeses and why? Let us know in the Comments section below.
More dairy delights
Six secrets to buying good cheese