Barbadillo palo cortado Obispo Gascon review

Barbadillo palo cortado Obispo Gascon in a nutshell

A gorgeous example of the rarest and most mysterious kind of sherry.

Full review

The palo cortado is the most curious type of sherry. It’s usually described as an amontillado with the body of an oloroso, but it begins its life as a fino. For some reason, the flor dies back or doesn’t form at all, and the wine begins to age oxidatively. In the past when barrels began to do this, they were marked with a cut symbol, or in Spanish, a 'cortado'. Palo cortados can also be created deliberately. One producer let me in on the secret: you begin with a delicate Palomino grape, most suitable for a fine fino, then let the wine ferment and age under flor briefly before adding alcohol to kill the yeasts so that the wine ages with air contact.

However they are made, palo cortados run the gamut, from wines that are closer to amontillados in style (just with an extra bit of body), to ones that are almost oloroso in their pungency. The one I’m recommending is definitely in the former category. Age has given it a nose of almost cognac-like intensity, with notes of toffee and hazelnut. On the palate, it's extremely dry, with more nuts – almonds and hazelnuts – and salty edge. It’s very much like an amontillado, but you get earthy cheese rind notes on the finish that take it into oloroso territory. I’m making it sound challenging, but it’s really not at all. My parents and wife loved sipping it after dinner, and the bottle disappeared very quickly.