Savel, produced by the Galician cheesemaker Airas Moniz, has won the second edition of the Cheese from Spain Awards, promoted by ICEX, as part of the 2025 Gourmet Spanish Cheese Championship, now in its 15th year, held at Salón Gourmets.
Savel is a blue cheese made from raw cow’s milk. It stands out for its unmistakable and intense aroma, but surprises with its smoothness, elegance, and creamy texture. It is aged in a cave where Penicillium roqueforti develops naturally. The veins that range between blue and greenish-grey, combined with the yellow tone of the cheese paste—sourced from pasture-raised Jersey cows—make this cheese truly unique.
The panel of judges included international cheese experts from around the world:
- France: Michaël Belissa, founder of the Salon du Fromage
- Germany: Burkhard Endemann, cheese specialist at Käse-Theke Magazine
- Switzerland: Rolf Beeler, Switzerland’s most renowned cheese affineur and one of the most influential figures in the cheese world across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
- The Netherlands: Jurre Hans Lodewijk Beijneveld, Senior Account Manager at cheese importer/distributor De Kaasfabriek
- United Kingdom: Nicholas Gibbs Bayne, Head Cheesemonger at The Fine Cheese Co.
- United States: Michele Buster, co-founder of Forever Cheese Inc.