Winery & Vintage Info
Production Notes
Sourced from dry-grown Shiraz vines on the Noble Red estate in Toolleen, Heathcote, planted on rich and ancient Cambrian soils. The vineyard adopts a minimal chemical philosophy, producing fruit of low yield and exceptional concentration. The 2022 Shiraz was aged for 12 months in French oak with 20% new oak, preserving the regional character and fruit integrity that define the Noble Red style.
Producer History
Noble Red was born from one man’s lifelong passion for wine. Roman Sobiesiak — engineer by profession, winemaker by calling — began making wine in his garage in the early 1990s from purchased Victorian grapes, before planting his first small block of Shiraz and Chardonnay on his residential property in Beaconsfield Upper in 1994. In 2002, Roman and his wife Margaret took the defining step — purchasing a large block of land in Toolleen, Heathcote, with half an acre of existing old vines. From that moment, the vision was clear.
Roman completed a winemaking course at Swinburne TAFE in 2003 and finished his first vintage with Sergio Carlei at Carlei Vineyards in Gippsland, before planting a further 15 acres of dry-grown vines on the Toolleen property in the years that followed. In 2004 he made his first serious small-batch wines from his own blocks, and in 2011 the Noble Red name was born — with the first labelled commercial release, the 2011 Noble Red Shiraz, awarded 94 points by James Halliday in the Wine Companion. A surreal and proud moment, and the beginning of an unbroken run of award-winning vintages.
Today, Noble Red has 15 acres under vine — predominantly Shiraz, with small parcels of Tempranillo, Mourvèdre, and Cabernet — and produces a range that includes Rosé, Cambrian Shiraz, Shiraz, Reserve Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, GSM, Durif, and special release Shirazes named ‘Ellena’ (after the first granddaughter), ‘Arek’ (after the first grandson), and B.S.T — Blood, Sweat and Tears. Roman continues to travel the world — visiting Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône, Tuscany, Piedmont, Priorat, and Rioja — bringing that accumulated knowledge back to the ancient soils of Heathcote with every vintage.
