I cracked open a cheddar today (stirred curd variety).  It was 7 months old; and when I opened it (it was vacuum sealed), the surface was a wee bit wet.  The aroma was very nice.  I cut into it and gave it a taste and it was all that I had been waiting for.  A nice sharp cheddar flavor, slightly dry like sharp cheddars are - but not too dry.  Even very thin slices came off very nicely I had altered the recipe very slightly by lowering the ripening temp from 90 to 88.  As far as I can tell, there were no adverse effects of doing so.  I might drop it another two degrees on the next attempt.

Good work, great to hear !!