Twelve commercial samples of cheddar cheese were characterized by a sensory panel comprising 24 highly experienced judges. The cheeses represented normal cheddar cheese readily available to the consumer and ranged in labelled maturity from mild to extra‐mature. Sensory data were collected by Quantitative Descriptive Analysis in such a way that carryover and order of tasting effects were defined. Statistical analysis for 23 separate sensory attributes estimated sample effects using the Residual Maximum Likelihood technique. Simplification of the results was then achieved by multivariate analysis. The panel's perception of maturity did not always agree with that implied by the label. However, it was shown that perceived maturity was closely associated with the intensity of cheddar flavour and with mouth‐coating character. A number of secondary associations were also no