Zamorano is a raw sheep's milk cheese from Zamora, in Castilla y León in northwestern Spain. It's a DOP cheese made in the same family as Manchego, but with its own personality — denser, a little more savage, the kind of aged sheep that long-time Manchego drinkers eventually graduate toward. The paste is firm and dense, a pale ivory color that breaks into clean slabs under the knife. On the palate it opens with toasted hazelnut and brown butter, picks up a savory, lanolin-laced depth through the middle, and finishes long with a quiet sweetness underneath. There's a faint pepperiness on the very back of the tongue that builds slowly as you keep eating. The natural rind, traditionally rubbed with olive oil during aging, gives the slices cut closest to it an extra savory pull. This is one of those Spanish sheep cheeses that rewards a slow plate. Cut it thick, let it warm up a few minutes, and pay attention to what the finish does.
