World’s Most Expensive Cheese: Cabrales from Asturias Sells for €37,000 at Auction

A 2.5-kilogram Cabrales cheese from the village of Arenas in Asturias has set a new Guinness World Record after being sold for €37,000 at auction, making it the most expensive cheese ever. The wheel was produced at Ángel Díaz Herrero’s dairy and matured by Encarnación Bada in the Los Mazos cave, where it aged for nine months at 1,500 meters above sea level.

The winning bid came from Iván Suárez, owner of El Llagar de Colloto restaurant in Oviedo, marking the sixth consecutive year his establishment has secured the top prize at the Cabrales Cheese Contest. Now in its 53rd edition, the event attracted over 2,000 visitors and featured 13 entries under the Cabrales Protected Designation of Origin. Bidding began at €3,000, with participation from nine Spanish restaurants, including La Montera Picona in Gijón and La Cuenca in Madrid, before Suárez claimed victory with the record-breaking offer—just €1,000 more than last year’s high. Despite the staggering cost of €14,800 per kilo, Suárez said he views the purchase as both a tribute to Asturias and a personal celebration, as he intends to share the cheese with family, friends, and guests for his upcoming birthday.

Spain’s most powerful cheeses

While Cabrales is globally admired for its sharp, spicy intensity, it is far from Spain’s only formidable cheese.

• Idiazábal (Basque Country): A smoked raw sheep’s milk cheese with a bold, nutty, and smoky profile. Its firm body and concentrated flavour deepen over time, making it distinctly robust and earthy.

• Manchego Curado and Viejo (La Mancha): Produced from sheep’s milk, Manchego becomes progressively stronger as it ages—six to twelve months for Curado and more than a year for Viejo. Its flavour evolves into a rich, nutty, spicy experience with a dense texture.

• Picón Bejes-Tresviso (Cantabria): Perhaps the strongest of all, this creamy yet crumbly blue cheese is notorious for its explosive aroma and sharp, almost shocking taste—akin to biting into an unripe lemon. Though initially overwhelming, its flavour quickly becomes addictive. Best sampled in its rural homeland, where authentic, intensely pungent versions are still produced.