2017 Noon Winery Eclipse Grenache Shiraz 750ml

Grapes sourced from McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek.

Producer tasting notes: “Produced from 90% Grenache, 6% Shiraz and 4% Graciano grown on our estate vineyards in McLaren Vale. The 2017 growing season seems to have suited our old vines well. They benefitted from the abundant moisture of the spring and then we vere blessed by the late arrival of warm, dry weather in March to ripen the smallish crop to perfection. Healthy grapes led to healthy ferments so the work in the cellar was easy. The resulting wine is very full bodied reflecting the late season sunshine but as usual it is not heavy, with natural poise and balance. It’s complex in flavour, with red fruits, spices and earthy/woody notes and it should provide delicious drinking at anytime over the next 10 years or more.” –Noon Winery

Drinking Window: 2020 – 2030

Blend:90% Grenache (Grenache), 6% Shiraz & 4% Graciano

Vineyard Notes

We are lucky here in South Australia to have old vines growing on their oven roots (not grafted onto rootstocks necessitated by the presence of phylloxera). This could be more important than is generally recognised, allowing our vines to more readily reflect their terroir and produce wines with a ‘sense of place’ This circumstance is quite rare in a world sense and gives us a unique advantage. Our vines grow in natural harmony with their environment, They are unirrigated and not trellised, so they appear quite ‘free range’ compared to most modern vineyards. Yields are low, ensuring the grapes ripen easily with full flavour development. The grapes for Noon Eclipse are picked from three vineyards surrounding and adjacent to our house and winery in McLaren Vale.WinemakingNoon Eclipse is usually quite high in alcohol because it is produced from Grenache grapes from low yielding vines. We do not set out with the aim of making a wine of high (or Iow) alcohol. Our desire rather is to harvest fully ripe fruit which best express the flavour of the grapes and the site. The grapes are picked by hand and fermentation takes place in small open vats with manual pigeage, to help extract colour and tannins. Pressing is also done by hand, using manual basket presses which are gentle and do not extact too much bitterness or astringency. Very little is added or taken away by modern winemaking technology. We prefer to take a minimalist approach, believing that this will deliver a wine which genuinely reflects the grapes and the site. Noon Eclipse is grown, made and bottled on fre estate.
AgeingNoon Eclipse is matured in seasoned 300 litre French and American oak barrels and large (Foudre and demi- muid sized) oak casks for 18 months.