95 Points Robert Parker
Medium to deep garnet in color, the 2002 Noon Eclipse contains 30% Langhorne Creek fruit from the “20 Rows” block. With evolving aromas of plum preserves, Christmas pudding, dark chocolate, espresso and licorice alongside nuances of earth and creme de cassis, this very big, rich and full-bodied wine offers plenty of dried fruit and spice flavor layers with just enough acid to refresh and a medium level of chewy tannins to frame. It finishes very long. Mature and drinking nicely now, it should cellar to 2017+. Drink 2013 - 2017.
Source: Robert Parker.
The 2002 Eclipse (70% Grenache and 30% Shiraz) is a brilliant exercise in vineyard sourcing and management. It was produced from 60- to 70-year-old vines, spent 18 months in a combination of small oak casks as well as foudres, and enjoyed a meticulous upbringing. The result is a prodigious dense ruby/purple-colored red boasting a glorious perfume of black fruits, licorice, vanilla, graphite, and Asian spices as well as a touch of incense. Full-bodied, gorgeously pure, elegant, and seamless, it’s hard to know how this beauty will age, but I suspect it should be consumed during its first 10-12 years of life.
- Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate