Morton Estate has once again drawn international attention to the quality of New Zealand chardonnay by winning, for the second year in a row, the Trophy for Best International Chardonnay at the high profile Decanter World Wine Awards in London.
It is the second year in a row and with the second vintage – that Coniglio has won the International Trophy for "Best Chardonnay over Ten Pounds" at the Decanter World Wine Awards. It also won the Regional Trophy for Best NZ Chardonnay. Coniglio reached the competition’s final three and was tasted against two other heavyweight wines, the Jean-Claude Boisset Champ Gain Puligny Montrachet Premier Cru Bourgogne 2004 and the Wolf Blass Gold Label Chardonnay 2005. The judges said that Coniglio’s dominance of the competition for two years was an indicator of the quality of New Zealand’s chardonnay wines.
"This second successive victory for NZ's Morton Estate shows not just the quality of Morton itself, but that the country famed for Sauvignon Blanc needs to be taken seriously for its chardonnay too," the judges said.
Morton Estate’s Winemaker, Evan Ward, says the company is proud to show the world how good New Zealand chardonnay is.
"It shows the consistency of this wine, so for us this award is an enormous success because it rewards our fundamental philosophy," says Evan.
"It’s an enormous success, both for New Zealand wine as a whole, and for Morton Estate in particular."
