01. Our Winery // Vineyards

Finca La Encerrada
Gualtallary, Mendoza Finca Libertad
Maipú, Mendoza

OUR VINEYARDS

OUR VINEYARDS

The Province of Mendoza is in the center-west of Argentina, on the border with Chile, at the foot of the Andes Mountain Range and produces about 70% of Argentine wines. In the last three decades, thanks to investments in plantations and technology, this region has developed greatly.

The desert climate, with an average annual rainfall of 250 mm, makes irrigation a key factor.

The departments of Maipú and Luján de Cuyo – where the winery and Finca Libertad are located – are within the so-called “First Zone”, a region traditionally known for producing the best quality Argentine wines. Finca La Encerrada, at 1,500 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.), and acquired some years ago is in the renowned Uco Valley. This is an area of great development with vineyards located at between 1,000 and 1,600 m.a.s.l. (3,300 to 5,250 ft), located in the District of Gualtallary, Department of Tupungato, one of Mendoza’s top two Malbec micro-regions. Thanks to its exceptional climate and soil conditions, very fresh wines of intense colors are produced, with abundant flowery and fruity tones, great body and elegance.

DISTINCTIVE TERROIRS
ORIGIN OF IDENTITY WINES

Bodega Benegas’ two vineyards have distinct characteristics: Ungrafted old vines in Finca Libertad and high-altitude vineyards in Finca La Encerrada.

A VARIETY OF SOILS IN A VINEYARD.

The water runs 170 meters deep in these poor, mostly calcareous soils, with rocky and sandy spots.The varieties are harvested by soil type and are vinified separately. The result is a luscious Malbec Blend which we like the most.

FINCA LIBERTAD

FINCA LIBERTAD

 

Finca Libertad is planted in an old riverbed, located on the edge of the Alto Río Mendoza, in the Cruz de Piedra area. It was planted with vine cuttings brought by Don Tiburcio from France in the 19th century. Three-meter-high walls were built to avoid the floods caused by the melted snow water flowing down from the Andes mountains during the summer season.

In 1999, Federico Benegas Lynch purchased what Ángel Mendoza, Trapiche’s Head Winemaker, considered to be the best 40 hectares of the old Finca Libertad.

Finca Libertad’s main features:

• Thermal Amplitude
• Old riverbed with extremely poor, alluvial soils
• Flood irrigation
• Planted with ungrafted vines (not clones)
• Genetic makeup brought from the best French Chateaux, prior to the phylloxera epidemic that destroyed most of the European vines.

There are 250 planted hectares on this shoreline representing 1 in 1000 of the total planted hectares in Mendoza.

FRENCH GENETIC.

Don Tiburcio planted in Finca Libertad ungrafted vines he purchased in France. Its genetic makeup is the same as the great French Chateaux of the 19th century. These are not clones developed to produce higher volume wines nor resistant to some diseases.
Michel Rolland says that Finca Libertad’s Cabernet Franc is unique in the world as it has the characteristics of the Cabernet Franc from the 19th century Bordeaux.

MENDOZA RIVER.

Finca Libertad is irrigated by flood for 8 or 10 hours with pure melted snow water from the Mendoza River that reaches very deep into its soil, allowing for the roots to expand up to 4-meters-deep and draw-in additional minerals that will later enhance the wine’s complexity. With drip irrigation, there is a risk that the phylloxera could destroy the vineyard but, with flood irrigation, own-rootstock vines can be planted as the phylloxera does not like water.

ANDES MOUNTAINS’ WINDS.

Due to the influence of this cold air and, at 850 meters high, Finca Libertad’s vines sprout four weeks later than its neighboring vineyards, just like in some areas of the Uco Valley that are at 1200 meters high. It also decreases the effects of frost.

WATER, A PRECIOUS ASSET.

As Mendoza’s water rights ended many years ago, new producers must dig wells to extract the water to irrigate incurring in higher electricity and diesel costs to pump the water out. With drip irrigation, water covers less than a meter wide and 1.5 meters deep and, usually 20% of the water is used from the water from the flood irrigation (by mantle).

Thermal Amplitude
The Mendoza River’s shoreline has a unique characteristic: the cold air that descends at great speed from the Andes mountains through the rocky, wavy hills of Lunlunta and is channeled through the riverbed (the Venturi Tube effect) to produce a great thermal amplitude on both of its banks.

Old Riverbed
The Finca Libertad is an old riverbed, with alluvial, stony soils, with some sand and superficial layers of clay. As vines suffer great stress in these poor soils, it produces low yields with excellent quality fruit resulting in superb wines. Despite fertilizing with organic guano, the yields are extremely low because of the vines’ old age. Some vineyards produce only 2000 kgs per hectare.

Flood Irrigation
Finca Libertad is irrigated by flood for 8 or 10 hours with pure melted snow water from the Mendoza River that reaches very deep into its soil, allowing for the roots to expand up to 4-meters-deep and draw-in additional minerals that will later enhance the wine’s complexity.
With drip irrigation, there is a risk that the phylloxera could destroy the vineyard but, with flood irrigation, own-rootstock vines can be planted as the phylloxera does not like water.

Planted with ungrafted vines
It is called ungrafted vines when the vine is planted with its own roots instead of using American Root grafted in the French vine. Finca Libertad has ungrafted vines planted by Don Tiburcio. According to the University of Davis, California, own-rooted vines retain 100% of its varietal character while grafted vines lose 30% of its varietal character.

Genetic makeup brought from the best French Chateaux
Don Tiburcio planted in Finca Libertad ungrafted vines he purchased in France. Its genetic makeup is the same as the great French Chateaux of the 19th century. These are not clones developed to produce higher volume wines nor resistant to some diseases.
Michel Rolland says that Finca Libertad’s Cabernet Franc is unique in the world as it has the characteristics of the Cabernet Franc from the 19th century Bordeaux.

FINCA LA ENCERRADA

FINCA LA ENCERRADA

 

In 2010, Bodega Benegas acquires Finca La Encerrada, located in Gualtallary, Tupungato in Uco Valley at 1400 meters above sea level. Finca La Encerrada is among of Mendoza’s 1% of highest vineyards.

Gualtallary Monasterio, the Uco Valley’s Diamond
It is in the authentic Appellation of Origin Gualtallary, the street name that went up to a Monastery. Today, the name was “expanded” to include other vineyards that are far away from the original Gualtallary. As the Appellation of Origin was broaden, Patricio Tapia (Descorchados, Wine & Spirits) speaks of the original area as “Gualtallary Monasterio”, considered Uco Valley’s “diamond”.
Finca La Encerrada has 40 hectares of planted vineyards under drip irrigation.

A variety of soils in a Vineyard
The water runs 170 meters deep in these poor, mostly calcareous soils, with rocky and sandy spots.The varieties are harvested by soil type and are vinified separately. The result is a luscious Malbec Blend which we like the most.

OUR GRAPES

For the winemaking process, we use our own grapes from Finca Libertad and Finca La Encerrada.

A TERROIR EXPRESSION.

The vineyard is planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc.
Three-high-quality, low-production Malbecs clones were planted.
La Encerrada produces high-quality grapes with great concentration, intense color and excellent expression of fruit and flower aromas and flavors.