Gutter&StarsGutter&Stars There Goes The Fear Chardonnay 2023

Abundant apple, pear and white peach fruit on the nose and palate, complemented by a hint of woodsmoke, a dash of white pepper and the kind of bright, clean acidity that refreshes and delights in equal measure. This will age beautifully for five years or more.

Picked by hand in mid-October this small block of Chardonnay (aromatic clone FR155) was whole-bunch pressed then cold-settled in tank for 24 hours before being racked into French oak barrels (ex-Burgundy, third and fourth fill).

Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation took place simultaneously in barrel in the cool Gutter&Stars cellar. Fermentation took 43 days.

The barrels were topped and the wine was matured on its gross lees with no battonage until May 2025 when it was blended and bottled. In total the Chardonnay spent 20 months in oak, adding roundness, body and structure to the bold tree/stone fruit and focused acidity.

The wine spent a further 8 months maturing in bottle ahead of release.

There Goes the Fear is bottled unfined and unfiltered making it vegan friendly. Due to this hands-off approach the wine may throw a delicate, harmless sediment in the bottle.