Cuatro Lunas

Bodegas Pérez Arquero is the agricultural and cheesemaking project of Cipriano Pérez and María José Arquero, whose farm is located next to the Tembleque railway station, in Toledo, La Mancha. The entire operation of cheeses, oils, and wines is carried out organically, with organic certification, stemming from the same farm philosophy. Since 2010, cheesemaking has been led by master cheesemaker Carlos Molina, who learned the trade as a child by hand-pressing Manchego with his father in Valdepeñas. The flock is the foundation: over three thousand dairy Manchega sheep, an indigenous breed from La Mancha adapted to the aridity of the high plateau (the region's name comes from the Arabic manya, 'land without water'). All Pérez Arquero cheeses are classified as artisan under the Manchego PDO —raw milk from a single flock, from the producer themselves. The pattern on the rind of the wheel carries the inherited memory of the esparto grass baskets used in the past to press the curds. "Cuatro Lunas" is the semi-cured expression. The house has been recognized by the Manchego Cheese Guild, named Best Cured Cheese of Castilla-La Mancha in 2019, and won a Bronze Medal at the World Cheese Awards 2023–24.