Simon Chapelle
France
Former composer and 5th generation Burgundy winemaker working in harmony with nature to carry on his family's prestigious winemaking tradition
France
Former composer and 5th generation Burgundy winemaker working in harmony with nature to carry on his family's prestigious winemaking tradition
0 Ratings
7 Followers
Simon was born and raised at the Chapelle family estate, where his ancestors have been making top-quality Burgundy for over 100 years. When most kids his age were playing with toy cars and action figures, he was already helping his mum and dad do odd jobs around the winery. It seemed only natural he would follow in their footsteps when he grew up… although he took a significant detour to get there.
A passionate musician, Simon left the family winery to pursue a career as a composer. Out in the world, he met so many people who were blown away by his Burgundy upbringing, it made him realise just how special ‘home’ really was. After 10 years in the music industry, he made ‘the biggest decision of my life’ and bowed out to return to his roots in Burgundy, carrying on the Chapelle family’s prestigious winemaking tradition.
After finally working his first proper harvest in 2015, Simon’s got into the rhythm of making truly top-notch Burgundy that lives up to the family name. He aims to work in harmony with nature and farms all his vineyards organically - to celebrate the incredible terroir of his home in the most natural way possible.
New Zealand
Former Chief Winemaker at Craggy Range, now making wines exclusively for Angels
167,304 Ratings
19,202 Followers
Chile
Meet Natalia... Chile's Young Winemaker of the Year 2018 and a rising star who's about to go supernova
97 Ratings
810 Followers
When our Wine Guy Ray came back from his epic discovery trip to South America, there was only one person he wanted to talk about… Natalia Poblete. A rising star of Chilean wine, she’s earned a burgeoning reputation in her country for her beautifully complex artisan wines. And she was even named Chile’s Young Winemaker of the Year in 2018.
We first tasted Natalia’s kit way back in 2019. It made us stop in our tracks and think ‘ooh, we could be onto something special here’. Fast forward to February 2023 and we asked her if she could knock-up a super-duper-delicious Chilean Merlot for our Angels. One sip and Ray got the little butterflies in his stomach. It was that good.
She’s a super-cool lady too, a bit like a Chilean version of Nina Stocker or Serena Cordero, with an incredible passion for her craft and quiet confidence in her own talent. We feel like we’ve reconnected with a long-lost member of the Naked family. And we’re so lucky to have crossed paths with Natalia when we did, because give it another few years and the whole world will be clamouring for her wines.
A passionate Bordeaux-born winemaker, Max gave up a jet-setting career in banking to return to his roots and follow his life-long dream of becoming a winemaker, with his wife Astrid by his side. In 1998, they fell in love with the magnificent Chateau Doyac - a historic estate with fantastic limestone soils and sunny, south-facing slopes - and were soon calling it home.
They’ve left their mark over the years, planting new vines and upgrading the old cellars. But the biggest upgrade on the estate came in 2016, when they decided to convert all of their vineyards to organic farming practices. Working with the utmost respect for the environment, Max’s philosophy is to make fine and elegant wines in the style of the greatest Bordeaux.
A man of many talents, Max recently took up Brazilian jiu jitsu and is also a keen surfer, you’ll often find him riding the waves with his daughter Clémence - an oenologist who’s also part of the winemaking team at Chateau Doyac. And when he’s not at the beach, he’s riding around the Médoc roads on his Harley Davidson motorcycle. Born to be wild, born to be a winemaker.
France
For centuries, Alexandre's family have made some of the finest wines in all of France from their little corner of St Emilion
107 Ratings
68 Followers
The latest in a long line of Bordeaux masters from the legendary Malet-Roquefort family, Alexandre is a big cheese in the world of fine French wine. But first and foremost, he’s just a really passionate winemaker. And he can’t wait to share his passion for St Emilion - and its celebrated wines - with you.
Not many winemakers have a family history as rich as Alexandre’s. The Malet-Roqueforts have been making some of the most sought-after wines in the world at their historic St Emilion estate since the 18th century, where they’re the oldest established family in the entire region. In fact, their fame dates all the way back to the start of the last millennium, when a great display at the Battle of Hastings won favour, and a fiefdom, from William the Conqueror.
Nowadays, Alexandre blends tradition with innovation and a deep respect for the beautiful terroir he’s forever grateful to have inherited. There’s no doubt that his old family vines are up there with some of the very best in the world. And we’re chuffed to bits to share the incredible spoils with UK wine-lovers like you.
France
A man on a mission - to make you fall in love with Beaujolais
7,488 Ratings
1,386 Followers
UK
Your new champion English winemaker making world-class wine out of an old Derbyshire mill
6 Ratings
6,816 Followers
Angels have been asking us to scout out more English winemakers for as long as we can remember. But we never expected to find one in Derbyshire of all places!
Kieron Atkinson has been quietly making award-winning English wines in Derbyshire for over a decade as chief winemaker at the historic Renishaw Hall, once thought to be the most northerly vineyard in the whole world. In 2011, he founded his very own English Wine Project to help raise the profile and quality of wines across the land. His aim is to put England on the map as a country that can produce wines that are up there with some of the best in the world.
Above all, he’s a really thoughtful, intelligent guy and the quality of his wines is superb. His winery is based in an old cotton mill in the Derwent Valley, in the middle of Derbyshire. But he also travels up and down the country as a consultant, helping other winemakers make their wines better too. It’s all part of his mission to champion the best of English wine. It’s so great to be working with an exciting new English winemaker like Kieron. And he’s so chuffed to be on board and is looking forward to hooking up with Angels.
Greece
This super dedicated Bordeaux trained winemaker can transport you to Greece with a sip
821 Ratings
7,797 Followers
France
When you taste top-quality Bordeaux like Edouard's, you understand why it's one of the most famous wine regions in the world
812 Ratings
271 Followers
We’ve been looking for more classic Bordeaux wines for ages, but finding the right winemaker to make them has been like finding a needle in a haystack, so much of the region is dominated by traditional old estates that just don’t fit the Naked mould. Thankfully a tip-off from our Bordeaux rebel Olivier Cazenave led us to Edouard, a 3rd generation winemaker at his family’s Chateau Le Grand Verdus estate, and as soon as we met him we knew we’d found our needle.
His name may sound like something out of a French nobleman’s court, and his family estate is practically a castle, but Edouard is actually a really forward-thinking guy who understands the need to balance the new with the old. He’s passionate about organic farming and working with nature, and has been introducing loads of changes in his vineyards to encourage the local wildlife to flourish among his vines “It’s no longer about fighting nature, it will always win. It’s about working with it.”
It’s when you taste top-quality stuff like Edouard’s that you understand why Bordeaux is one of the most famous wine regions in the world. From his access to first-class grapes, to his understanding of the technical side of winemaking, to his ability to create uniquely delicious, classic French wines. If you’re a Bordeaux fanatic, Edouard’s is a name to get really excited about.
Italy
Your 2023 Naked Winemaker of the Year is... the fabulously talented, the one, the only... Marica Bonomo!
1,857 Ratings
3,071 Followers
We knew Marica would be a perfect fit for Naked when she joined us back in 2022, and that Angels would love her wines. But to go from a standing start to Winemaker of the Year in just two years is nothing short of extraordinary.
Marica is exactly the kind of hard-working, humble but uber-talented winemaker Naked was set up to support. A third generation winemaker, her family have been crafting top-quality Italian wines for 66 years, up in the hills near Lake Garda in the Veneto region. They don’t use pesticides or herbicides, and can paper the walls of their recently renovated, solar-powered winery with so many sustainability credentials and certificates. And by producing only wines that come from their own vineyards, Marica knows the identity and soul of every single grape that goes into them.
In recent years, Marica’s wines have started to get noticed in high places, including being named in the ‘Top 100 Wines’ in the world by Wine Spectator. And now she’s topped it all by being named your 2023 Winemaker of the Year. It couldn't have happened to a nicer lady.
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