I did my first Manchego on April 17th. It was brined for 16 hours, then I dried it with paper towels and salted all surfaces and put it in my cave. I waxed it on May 11th. My notes say it had major cracks in one side.
I cut it into quarters on September 11th, saved out one quarter for sampling, and rewaxed the other three. My comments at that time were that it was firm, too salty, with a slightly crumbly texture. In other words, I wasn't particularly thrilled with the end product at that time.
Fast forward to the past two weeks.
Wow!! Maybe my palate and nose have become more sophisticated in a month's time...or the cheese has pleasingly aged in that time. Whatever the reason, I am now very thoroughly enjoying my Manchego effort. It is still a little crumbly but it slices okay and is not at all salty. I am now planning my second improved Manchego cheese. Slices of the cheese add tremendously to a sandwich, an omelet, or plain with sliced apple.
My wife finds the cheese stinky. I find it pleasingly pungent. My little Yorkie loves the little bits that she has been given.
The take-away truth here is that adequate time is needed to fully develop some cheeses. That knowledge tempers my desire to prematurely crack open one of my cheeses.
-Boofer-