The winery, located in Coquimbito in the province of Maipú in the Argentine region of
Mendoza, was founded in 1883 by the famous wine-growing pioneer Tiburcio
Benegas (1844-1910). In 1973, it was bought by the Argentinian wine multinational
Peñaflor. The company's own vineyards in Mendoza cover 1,075 hectares of vines at 630 to 1,000 metres above sea level. A team of renowned experts in vine breeding and vinification, such as the French oenologist Michel
Rolland, is constantly busy making improvements and using the most modern methods to produce wines with low levels of residual sugar. Almost all the important varieties in Argentina are cultivated, such as Bonarda, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Torrontés and Viognier. Mainly single-varietal wines are produced, but also various cuvées.
The premium qualities are produced under the brand names "Broquel" (varietal wines), "Iscay" (cuvée of Merlot and Malbec), "Medalla" (Cabernet Sauvignon), "Trapiche Malbec Single Vineyards" (Malbec wines from single vineyards) and "Roble" (various varieties with barrique ageing). Young, light varietal wines are marketed under the labels "Falling Star" (especially for the US market) and "Astica". The latter is bottled and also sold in so-called
bag-in-boxes (plastic containers with a volume of 3 litres). Sparkling wines are also produced, as well as fruity sparkling wines of different varieties under the brand name "Septiembre". The annual production is about 20 million bottles of wine, most of which is exported. In 2005, this amounted to over one million cases (12 bottles each) to about 60 countries.
