palo cortado

plural palo cortados

1. countableuncountableA rare variety of sherry that is initially aged under flor to become a fino or amontillado, but inexplicably loses its veil of flor and begins aging oxidatively as an oloroso, resulting in a wine with some of the richness of oloroso and some of the crispness of amontillado.

   These wines are barely fortified to the minimum 15.5% required by Spanish law. By comparison, olorosos, the aged finos known as amontillados, the rare palo cortados (olorosos that spontaneously start to develop like finos) and sweet Sherries are usually fortified to 18% or 20%.

   1996 September 26, Joel Butler, “A Lighter Shade of Pale”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 02 Sep 2026

   2 more examples

   In contrast, palo cortado is hard to find and can retail for upward of 40 euros per bottle (about $52, at $1.29 to the euro) and higher, a price point that is out of reach for daily sherry drinkers. […] While many palo cortados out there are merely different sherries mixed together, and aren’t considered pure by aficionados, some bodegas have been in the business of making the real thing for more than a century.

   2013 January 2, Geoffrey Gray, “Sharing a Sherry Treasured in Spain”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Dec 2015

   The three restaurants are perched in a row along the waterside setting of Bristol’s supremely handsome former general hospital. (So maybe I did find myself in the property sales office after a few palo cortados – what of it?) […] Yet a big portion of clams, garlicky and fragrant with sherry, costs a fiver, and a generous glass of rare, luscious palo cortado comes in at £4, so I’ll say swings and roundabouts and shut the hell up.

   2017 February 3, Marina O'Loughlin, “Paco Tapas, Bristol: ‘Spanish food from perfectionists’ – restaurant review”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Feb 2017