palo cortado

Noun

palo cortado (countable and uncountable, plural palo cortados)

1. A 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
   • 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...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