Benjamin Darnault
France
Benjamin's Wines
- France
- 25Â wines
- 7Â styles
Consultant winemaker on a mission to uncover gems for the Angels all over the Languedoc
- When Ben left a safe winemaking job in Australia to move back to France with his young family in the noughties, at first he really struggled. The financial crash of 2007/08 clobbered the winery he was working at, so they had to let him go. He couldn’t catch a break.
- That was until Angels freed Ben from the corporate fat cats and transformed his livelihood. Thanks to Angels, Ben was finally able to set up on his own and realise his lifelong dream of putting his own name on the label. Even better, he had an advance on his next vintage!
- With Angel support, Ben has been able to invest more, source even better fruit and establish strong relationships with local growers to improve the quality of his delicious wines year-on-year. With thousands of rave reviews, he’s a bonafide Naked icon.
Vineyard Location
Benjamin Darnault's Story
Benjamin Darnault's Story
"I would like to introduce myself as a new winemaker for Naked Wines. I am the first in our family to be making wine. My dad is an accountant, and the dazzling world of offices and figures didn't seem quite as enticing as getting dirty in the vines!
It was actually my best friend's dad who influenced me in becoming a winemaker. I was always at their place, listening and observing. I liked his lifestyle. I then had the opportunity of working with him in his cellar, Le Terte Roteboeuf, in St Emilion and it went from there.
My time abroad
My career in the wine industry has bought me more than I'd ever expected. I met my wife whilst I was in Australia making wine. We spent two months together during harvest and married 1 year later in Cape Town where we also spent a bit of time. Twelve years later we're now settled in the South of France making wine together... which includes this exciting new project for Naked Wines!
Thank you Naked Angels!
Working with Naked means means I can put all my energy into growing the grapes and not have to worry about buyers pushing down the costs and compromising the quality of my wines... so thank you in advance.
Some of my proudest moments in my career were firstly in 2005 when I had a wine listed in the Top 100 Best Wines in the World by the Wine Spectator. Secondly when I got 95 points from Parker with an Australian wine that I made in 2006. Pretty happy about that... and here's to winning more awards with you support."
