Winery	Fonty's Pool Wines
Region	Pemberton, Western Australia
Vintage	2004
Type	Red
Grape Varietals	Shiraz
Retail Price	$36
Rating	6/10

I realised recently that I am attracted to wacky wine names. Fonty's Pool wine pretty much caught my attention. Do not be mistaken however, the name of this wine merely originated from an interesting landmark in Western Australia.

It all started by an early pioneer, Archie Fontanini, who begun faming the land in early 1907. Mr Fontanini later built a dam to irrigate his farm which was later affectionately call Fonty's Pool by the locals. Today Fonty's area Pool wine occupies ~110 Hectare of land producing mainly Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malbec, Marsanne, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Shiraz, Verdelho and Viognier.

Though it sounded wacky, this wine is no nonsense. This is a medium bodied shiraz lifted with fresh toasty and spicy nose. The wine has a balanced tannin though incline towards being acidic. Initially, the wine tasted a bit straight with little character and slightly sourish on the palate, but this slowly developed into hints of plum accompanied by intense and pleasant raisin flavour followed by short-medium finishing. Left to decant for a while, the acidity from the wine began to mellow slightly. 

Overall this is a pleasant wine for its price range. It should become more approachable if age for another 4 years. Unfortunately, I was too eager to try it out... Because of its slightly spicy and acidic in nature, it is best to pair this wine with rich or meaty dishes such as lagsanna, or chinese stew.  

Tasting Notes:

• Medium bodied lifted with fresh toasty and spicy nose. The wine has a balanced tannin though incline towards being acidic. Initially, the wine tasted a bit straight with little character and slightly sourish on the palate, but this slowly developed into hints of plum accompanied by intense and pleasant raisin flavour followed by short-medium finishing.

Food Pairing:

• Rich and meaty dishes such as lagsanna or chinese stew.

Drinkability:

• Cellar a few more years if you can wait.

Available At:

• Wine Connections