Award Winning Wines At Naked
We’ve always said that Naked make good, authentic wines thanks to their business model that invests in winemakers and puts them first. And the proof really is in the pudding.
Naked’s Angels have helped catapult their winemakers to glory, bagging 4 Gold, 40 Silver and 74 Bronze medals at the International Wine Challenge, Decanter World Wine Awards and International Wine & Spirit Competition. These competitions put their wines directly up against some of the world’s most expensive too, so you know you’re getting value for money!
If you’re already one of the Naked Wines Angels, it’s your investment in the company that has led to this, so you’d be missing out if you didn’t get a case or two. If you haven’t shopped with Naked before, then why not dive in with our £80 Naked Wines Voucher? That’s the most affordable way to begin finding out what they’re all about and then begin contributing towards their wine yourself.
My Medal Winning Highlights
Winning Gold at the IWC 2025, this is a delicious blend from Spain’s Ribeiro region by winemaker Javier Gonzalez.
You’ve heard of Albarino, that refreshing grape with punchy citrus and stone fruit flavours, you may have even heard of Godello, which is similar in style to Albarino but brings a bit of minerality to the blend. The grape you likely haven’t heard of is Treixadura. This helps temper the wine’s acidity further and provide orchard fruit, peach and tropical flavours. Overall, this blend is a fantastic balance with a complex range of flavours that should appeal to everyone. And judging by the Gold medal, it did.
Scoring two Silver’s, we move from Spain to Portugal with a moreish Douro red. By the critically acclaimed Joao Pires, born and bred in the vineyards of the Douro, this has everything and more on offer from this region.
It’s a blend of 5 different native grapes, with Touriga Nacional leading, that culminate into a beefy wine. Rich and dark-fruited, with bramble, liquorice, black pepper and tapenade coming through, it is one complex treat. Top that off with a generous dollop of oak spice to smoothen out the tannin and you have a wine suitable to lay down if you fancy it going even more savoury in nature. An average of 94% recommendations should tell you what the average drinker thinks of this!
Riesling wines, despite having a reputation as many wine critics’ favourite wines to drink, have a tendency to scare people. A Silver medal hopefully does enough to put your mind at ease but if not, let me tell you how good it is.
This is from a winemaker that was originally spawned from the Angels in Australia, but he and his wines are so good that Naked have brought him out of their exclusive enjoyment. It is made from old vines in the Watervale region of Clare Valley, which has fertile limestone soils that produce wines with greater aromatic and floral character than elsewhere in the region. The result is a characterful young-style Riesling with lime, grapefruit, green apple, lemon and blossom. There’s a little honeyed note underscoring these as well. But, it is still dry and very crisp indeed. Perfect for Albarino and Chablis drinkers even.
Another Silver Medal winner by a Frenchman born and trained in Bordeaux, but now making wines in Chile and behind the much-acclaimed Domus Aurea Cabernet Sauvignon that sells for quite a bit these days.
This one is a Bordeaux blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carmenere) from Maipo Valley, a region famed for Cabernet Sauvignon in particular, some at super-premium prices. As a Cabernet-led blend, this shares similarities with great left-bank Bordeaux wines from regions like Pauillac and Margaux, just at a much more encouraging price. It is a brooding red wine with powerful depth and intense flavour that culminates in a lingering finish. Think plum, cassis, bramble, blackberry, clove, leather, cherry and eucalyptus. Despite the heft, the tannins are soft and the wine elegant. Keep it for a few years if you fancy too!
Yet another Silver this time crossing into Argentina’s famous Uco Valley. Ordinarily, you expect Uco Valley and Malbec to go hand-in-hand, but there are many other varieties well suited to the climate.
Take this Syrah, harvested at high altitude allowing the grapes to slowly mature in flavour whilst keeping acidity levels up. These are some of the best conditions for Syrah you can get, and rivals those of the Rhone appellations. It’s fresh, peppery and red fruit-driven with some barrel ageing complexity from a year in French and American oak, bringing spice and savoury character to the mix.
Sauvignon and Semillon are a pairing that originated in Bordeaux, but has since been overtaken by the Australians in my view. And why not trust in it when it’s by a tried and tested winemaker behind brands like Vasse Felix?
This is a blend that is now native to Margaret River, combining the greener, grassier and more herbaceous elements of Semillon with the tropical fruit and gooseberry from Sauvignon similar to what you might expect in a New Zealand version. Essentially, the Semillon softens the acidity and intense flavours of Sauvignon, although it is still zippy, making a nicely balanced, bright wine that is perfect for summer sipping.
So, there you have a selection of the Medal winners that I found the most interesting to write about. There are many more recent winners (85 to be exact) that you can explore and sample for yourself too. As I've said already, if you are currently one of their Angels, then do make sure you get your money's worth and check out their Medal winners cases here. If you haven't shopped with Naked, there's no better introduction than with our voucher. You take a quick quiz where it will work out the kind of wines you like and create the perfect tailor-made case just for you. From there, you're ready to go and begin supporting, and of course drinking, their winemakers' creations yourself!