Benegas, Ataliva Malbec 2023

Get to know: Benegas, Ataliva Malbec

Tasting Note

This delicious Malbec is the result of fruit grown by a group of independent growers in the Uco Valley with whom Benegas have worked for many years, the only wine made at the winery not 100% estate grown. Vigorous purple in colour, lots of intense plum and cherry aromas with a floral hint typical of the Uco, soft and juicy on the palate. A simple, fresh, highly approachable and great value Malbec from a brilliant producer.

Try this with barbecued meat or simply pasta in a light sauce.

Kate Says

"When we first tried this wine my tasting note was: "Banging! That's what people want!" Bold ripe fruit, powerful delivery, a good lick of oak, persistence on the finish and good juicy freshness throughout. What's not to like? The winemaking is world-class."

Producer Info

Benegas is one of the great true stories of the wine world, a slice of living history no less, and with Gisella Garrido and Maria Alvarez in the winemaker’s team at the helm day-to-day, the future looks very bright indeed.

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).

The Ataliva is the only wine for which the fruit is coming from vineyards not directly owned by Benegas however they work super closely with the growers on vine health, vineyard management and, crucially, harvest times to ensure the grapes coming in to the winery are tip-top and worthy of the Benegas name. The winemaking is world-class.