Leading wine commentator, Charles Gill has commended Morton Estate wines for our consistent quality across the entire price range. Writing in the Taranaki Daily News, he says "gimmicky new labels such as Monkey Bay and Yellow Tail might be all the rage but who can resist the lure of a comfort zone where stalwarts such as Morton Estate wines and Matua Valley will rarely let you down?"

"For more than 20 years these wine industry heavyweights have flourished by producing quality wine at every price point, but their mid-priced wines are often the best value. This $15 - $20 price bracket includes a wine I would happily nominate as New Zealandıs most con-sistent and best value chardonnay for the last two decades - Morton Estate White Label Hawkes Bay Chardonnay.

"In 1991 I joined fellow wine scribes on a tour of their impressive new Riverview vineyards on the river terraces inland from Ngatarawa, Hawkes Bay. This is a relatively cool spot, ideal for the ripe grapefruit flavours this region is renowned for. "The concentration and intensity of their White Label has moved up a notch or two and the fine tuning of the 1990s paid off last year when the 2002 White Label won the Champion Open White Wine Trophy at the Air New Zealand Wine Awards. Priced at around $17 this was quite a coup," Charles wrote.

Morton Estate is delighted to have received such recognition because our modern wine company has been built on just that philosophy - creating quality wines at every price point.

Innovative wine styles can not be created by following the leader. Morton began by pioneering chardonnay production at the cooler inland vineyard of Riverview. We have continued to develop new vine-yards based on the concept of terroir, with the sites chosen to enhance the wine varieties and styles. Continued on Pg.2 Cont. from Pg.1. The result is the development of exciting new wine styles such as the Regent of Morton, a sublime Bordeaux-style red blend; the March-ioness of Morton, a Bordeaux-style oaked Sauvignon Blanc, a Blanc de Blanc-sparkling wine that is made entirely from chardonnay grapes and NZıs ultimate chardonnay, the hand-crafted Coniglio. The familiar White Label and Black Label ranges have also aged well and are now locally and internationally recognised wines of elegance and refinement that will enhance any meal table.

With innovative viticulture techniques producing excellent fruit for some of the countryıs top winemakers who also have access to leading edge technology we craft the range of wines for which Morton Estate is now internationally famous.

Charles Gill isnıt the only person to succumb to good wine judges at recent international competitions have also agreed, awarding Morton Estate wines with two Trophies for our Private Reserve 2002 Hawkes Bay Chardonnay at the respected Sydney International Wine competition and three back-to-back Trophies for Coniglio Chardonnay at the Decanter World Wine Awards in London. Morton Estate also took home silvers for our 2002 Black Label Chardonnay, The Marchioness of Morton 2004 and The Regent of Morton 2002.