The 14th edition of the Best Cheeses of Spain Championship at Salón Gourmets has selected the cheese from Finca de Uga, from Lanzarote, as the absolute winner among more than 880 participants.
Lanzarote, April 2024
Today, the Salón Gourmets celebrated the 14th edition of GourmetQuesos, the 2024 Championship of the Best Cheeses of Spain. In this contest, the most renowned in the cheese sector in our country, 880 cheeses participated. The jury of this famous gastronomic competition awarded ‘Don Nicolás,’ the aged cow’s milk cheese from Finca de Uga in Lanzarote, the prize for Best Cheese of Spain 2024, positioning it as the absolute winner.
‘Don Nicolás’ is a cheese aged for 18 months in wood, with an ochre rind, yellowish paste, firm texture, somewhat creamy, and with a crispy sensation due to the presence of tyrosine crystals. With slightly milky aromas and a flavor highlighted by sweet notes, caramel, toasted, and somewhat fruity like tropical pineapple. For all these characteristics, it has been selected as the best in the country.
The artisan cheese dairy of this agro-livestock farm, owned by Rosa Group, is equipped with innovative facilities that respect traditional methods of production. In this way, they only receive milk from their 400 Majorera goats, 300 Canarian sheep, and 30 Jersey cows, to obtain yogurt and a wide range of high-quality cheeses, ranging from pressed cheeses made from a single type of milk to cheeses of different blends and vegetable and lactic coagulations, achieving an annual production of just 30,000 kg.
Their production system pursues sustainability with the main objective of ensuring the maximum comfort and welfare of the animals, maintaining strict control over feeding, and maintaining proper hygiene, thus achieving a raw material of maximum quality.
Without a doubt, the effort, dedication, and care with which they obtain and transform their milk have enabled them to achieve cheeses with a unique personality and quality.
These cheeses are endorsed by leading experts in the sector and have been awarded in major specialized competitions at national and international levels:
Don Nicolás / Best Cheese of Spain 2024 at GourmetQuesos (Salón Gourmets)
Fresco de Cabra, Secreto del Majo, Rojillo, Alegranza / Gold by Insular Cheese Contest
Don Nicolás / Best cheese of the Canary Islands by Agrocanarias
Rojillo / Best Cheese Infantile Tasting by Agrocanarias
Vulcano / Gold by Agrocanarias
Secreto del Majo / Silver by Agrocanarias
Untado en Pimentón / Gold by World Cheese Awards
Rojillo, Vulcano, Oveja, Don Nicolás / Bronze by World Cheese Awards
Don Nicolás, Bodega Oveja, Rojillo / Gold by Agrocanarias
Bodega Oveja / SuperGold by World Cheese Awards
Bodega / Gold by World Cheese Awards
Rojillo / Silver by World Cheese Awards
Don Nicolás, Vulcano, Secreto del Majo / Bronze by World Cheese Awards
Bodega Cabra, Bodega Oveja / Super Gold by Agrocanarias
Bodega Oveja / Silver by World Cheese Awards
Ovejita / Bronze by World Cheese Awards
Vulcano, Don Nicolás / Gold by Agrocanarias
Bodega Cabra, Bodega Oveja / Silver by Agrocanarias
Bodega Oveja / SuperGold by World Cheese Awards
Flor de las Nieves / Gold by Agrocanarias
Alegranza, Untado en Pimentón / Silver by Insular Cheese Contest
Bodega Oveja / SuperGold by World Cheese Awards
Alegranza, Untado en Pimentón / Silver by World Cheese Awards