2024 Tomfoolery Burla Negra Tempranillo, Barossa Valley

Deep red with a tinge of purple in the edge, the bouquet delivers milk chocolate, dark red fruits and herbs, caraway seed and clove, the palate full-bodied and firm, with a solid wall of tannins that are nevertheless supple and ripe. This will keep and reward some cellar time. Drink to 2039.

92 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, January 2026

A full-bodied, sun-drenched Barossa take on one of the great Iberian red varieties, the Burla Negra opens with an aromatic nose of fleshy, dark cherries with high notes of dried Mediterranean herbs and warming Moorish spices. The palate is a harmonious continuation of the aromas, with firm, ripe tannins providing appealing and refreshing texture to the rich fruit flavours.

Pair this with cured meats, charcoal-grilled fats, and warm, aromatic spice rubs. Light up the charcoal and serve up good charcuterie before cooking king oyster mushrooms rubbed with smoked paprika, garlic and thyme. Open another bottle to enjoy with the slow-roasted cumin and coriander seed lamb shoulder that was cooking away in the background and comes to the table with a sticky garlic and pomegranate glaze.

More about this wine

The hand-picked fruit was fermented in small open fermenters and pumped over by hand twice daily to maximize oxygenation and purity of fermentation. Once dry, the wine was gently basket pressed minimizing the extraction of harsh extractive tannins. It matured in seasoned French oak barriques 12 months.

About Tomfoolery

Tomfoolery is a project of winemaker Ben Chipman. Mentored by some of Barossa’s most respected names before venturing out on his own, he built his own winery in 2014 on the homestead he and his wife Sarah had purchased on the eastern slopes of the Barossa a couple of years earlier. His overall style could be described as aromatic, floral and structured.