Woodstock The Stocks Shiraz 2010  £59.95

Woodstock The Stocks Shiraz 2010

Named after a set of medieval wooden leg stocks, which stand in the town of Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England, ‘The Stocks’ Shiraz is Woodstock’s flagship wine. This single vineyard Shiraz is made from 31 rows of low-yielding vines, planted circa 1900 on a sandy north slope of Woodstock Estate. 

The old vines on sandy soils are inspected thoroughly during veraison each January; exposed bunches are removed to prevent sunburn and hidden bunches are thinned to ensure even ripening. Ideally, each remaining bunch will have about two leaves between them and the sun. Yields are deliberately kept low (average yield is about two bottles per vine) and the vineyard is essentially dry grown resulting in an intense concentration of flavour. The Shiraz fruit is harvested at night to preserve the delicate berry flavours. The grapes are then crushed and cold soaked for 24-48 hours before fermentation in small open fermenters and hand plunged twice daily for at least 5 days. The wine is pressed and then finishes fermenting in carefully selected old and new, French and American oak barrels in a temperature-controlled cellar. Each barrel is monitored, and only the finest are selected to continue the lineage of Woodstock ‘The Stocks’ Shiraz.

The textbook 2010 vintage created powerful wines of purity with excellent fruit concentration, tannin structure and elegance. On the nose dark berries, traces of cedar and spice, chocolate, mint and earthy notes are also evident. The palate is plush with good intensity and complexity of flavours that will continue to evolve and mellow in the glass as well as in the cellar in over the next decade.

‘The Stocks’ Shiraz really comes into its own when aged in a bottle. This is a wine that will reward your patient cellaring with the further development of its unique terroir characteristics. Ten to fifteen years is the sweet spot and we have enjoyed amazing bottles of previous vintages twenty or more years on.

The powerful, rich tannins of The Stocks will stand up well to rich dishes like Braised ox-tail and Swiss Brown mushroom risoni with seeded mustard butter and porcini jus.