benegas
Winery – cruz de piedra, maipu, lujan de cuyo, mendoza
Vineyards – cruz de piedra, maipu & gualtallary, Uco Valley, Mendoza
so much to say, so much history, someone even wrote a book about it…
Federico Benegas Lynch was raised at ‘El Trapiche’, a winery established in 1883 by his great, great grandfather, Don Tiburcio Benegas, one of the original pioneers of Argentine wine. The winery was finally sold in the 1970s and in 1998, following a successful business career in Buenos Aires, Federico returned to Mendoza to re-kindle his lifelong passion and professional destiny, wine. He bought Finca La Libertad, an historic 40-hectare vineyard with ‘soils’ of stone on the old Upper Mendoza riverbank in Cruz de Piedra, and the old winery that belonged to his mother’s family which he quickly set about refurbishing. His idea was based on the traditional French Châteaux system, where proprietorship of vineyard and winery are inextricably linked.
Today Bodega Benegas itself is a marvel, a real treat for the visitor, a sort of hybrid between a museum and a welcoming family home with extensive underground cellars where archive vintages are kept, and upstairs one of the most impressive dining rooms you can imagine (with legendary asado to match if you’re lucky).
And the wines? Well, forget about the ‘New World’. This is one of the best ways to experience Argentina’s distinctly European wine culture. Of course, there is lovely opulence, purity and generosity in the fruit, but there is also tension, sometimes an exciting nervosity in the structure.
Benegas is one of the great true stories of the wine world, a slice of living history no less, and with winemaker Gabriela Zavala now at the helm day-to-day, the future looks very bright indeed.
Clara Benegas Chardonnay 2021
Benegas
Carmela Benegas Rose
Benegas
Juan Benegas Malbec
Benegas
Estate Cabernet Franc
Benegas
Estate Malbec
Benegas
Single Vineyard Sangiovese
Benegas
Single Vineyard Malbec
Benegas
Benegas Lynch Malbec
Benegas
Benegas Lynch Meritage
Benegas
