May 12, 2023 – Winemaker Greg Freeman looks the natural bagpiper: tall, strapping and striking in his kilt and beret. You may not have had his wines, but you might have heard him playing at Carmel Beach at sunset, where he has garnered quite a following.
Lately he’s also added new tunes to his repertoire, even as listeners request old favorites. Having grown up immersed in piper culture in Texas, where he was in competitive marching bands, he picked up the pipes again during the pandemic, after a few years hiatus.
A bit of mid-career wanderlust led him from Hahn in Monterey, where he had previously worked as winemaker with Paul Clifton, back to Texas to Messina Hof for a spell. He then returned to the Central Coast, working for a time at Cowgirl Winery before heading to Chalone in 2021, a place everyone feels is way out there remote and in the middle of nowhere.
He took over after Gianni Abate, who many might remember from Morgan, left Chalone to care for his father in the Central Valley. But, as Greg points out, Chalone is actually in the middle of somewhere, being a short distance off Highway 101 in Soledad and very near The Pinnacles, which experienced a real spike in popularity during the pandemic. So, too, did the Chalone tasting room, at least for a bit.
Working at Chalone in the Gavilan Mountain Range, he is surrounded by the oldest producing vines in Monterey County—vineyards that began producing world-renowned wine in the days of Dick Graff, dating back to 1964. Thereafter, wines were crafted by the likes of Michael Michaud, Dan Karlsen, Ed Kurtzman and David Coventry, all of whom worked before him in that history-soaked cellar, and all of whom have said there is nothing like Chalone, a name that comes from the dominant peak on the famous Chalone label, and which is derived from the indigenous Costanoan Native American tribe, the Chollen.
In the greatest understatement, Freeman says, “The terroir here is totally different.”
Of the vineyards, he says, “The vineyards here—250 acres on the 900-acre parcel—are immaculate. They are the most well kept uniform vineyards. They are so manicured and so gorgeous. Farming here is largely organic, because we don’t have mildew or rot or pests. We do no sprays. Everything is hand done with 5 or 6 guys.”
A Foley brand, Chalone felt like a new beginning: a place where Freeman could really make a difference. He has certainly done that with this latest iteration of wines, the first ones he made from harvest to bottling, and he would love to share them with you.
Sadly, the tasting room at Chalone was suddenly shuttered at the end of January. People disappeared and it got really quiet in the cellar. One of the projects he had been working on was finding a suitable location for a Chalone tasting room in Carmel. He says that he’s still looking for a spot, but that isn’t Foley’s top priority right now. Other brands like Roth and Silverado, and getting Chateau St. Jean up and running in Kenwood, with its right on Highway 12 location in Sonoma, are far more critical, which is understandable. Hopefully, this storied brand can have a location in Carmel, as do Hahn and Talbott.
Meanwhile, Freeman has been focusing on the Direct to Consumer wines in his charge, of which about 250 to 450 cases are made of each of 9 different wines. Currently, there are about 3,500 cases going to wholesale. Having the place pretty much to himself has its pluses and minuses, but he’s putting out some compelling wines that accurately represent this crazy desert climate with dramatic diurnal swings. Extreme conditions create memorable wines. Here are a few of the wines Freeman shared and all are available to purchase on the website and through the Foley Food and Wine Society. And hopefully, at some point in the future, you might be able to taste them at a new Chalone tasting room. But for now, please take a virtual sip.
2021 Pinot Blanc, 15% – Very rich and concentrated with flavors of perfectly butter poached pears stuffed with silky almond paste and topped with Chantilly cream. Like no other Pinot Blanc you’ve tasted, all creamy and weighty on the palate.
2021 Chalone Reserve Chardonnay, 14.6% – Aromas of pure ripe peaches, melted butter, honeycomb and almond blossoms are a big hint this will be quite decadent, and it delivers. Flavors of peach pie with heavy cream, buttermilk biscuits with whipped butter and vanilla scones are just some of the things that came to mind while savoring this beauty.
2021 Chalone Chardonnay Musquee, 14.9% – This is full on contented cat purring in your lap Chardonnay. If you love rich ripe papaya bread pudding and butterscotch crème brulee, this is your beverage. Unctuous, smooth and framed with plenty of toasty oak, this will warm your heart, as well as your cockles.
2021 Chalone Pinot Noir Reserve, 14.5% – Made from clones 667, 777, 113, 114, 115, Pommard and Swan, this was aged for 18 months in 75% new French oak. Freeman chose the 4 best barrels of the lot to make this reserve, which is highly intriguing with dark blackberry, black pepper, dried cranberry and a bit of wild sage. The palate is surprisingly spicy with pepper berry, ground coriander, caraway, rye, cranberry and Cara Cara orange peel: wonderfully savory and intriguing. You can really taste the influence of the extreme climate, which is nothing like the Santa Lucia Highlands, where Freeman made Pinot Noir for Hahn for many years. There is a wholesale version of this Pinot Noir that is aged for just 9 months as well.
2021 Chalone GSM, 14.9% – Of all the wines in the lot, this and the Syrah and the Grenache, are the cat’s meow for me. This wine covers a wonderful spectrum of aromas from mulberry to baked plum cake to basil, showing off its warmth and its cool, and the same time. My husband declared this wine, “Absolutely brilliant!” Which is not actually what he said, but I think that’s what he meant. The acid is heroic, the flavors are just lovely, spunky, bright and meaty, and delivering unfailing deliciousness in every sip. This wine represents the first time Chalone made a GSM. It’s fantastic, as is the 2021 Grenache, a strawberry-forward, mostly red-fruited solo. Freeman says the Mourvedre is dark, inky and robust, contributing strong tannins and a smack of white pepper.
2021 Chalone Syrah, 14.6% – I love Syrah, and this shows off the warm afternoons and cool nights with its outer layer of sweet plum and rum cherry combined with its core of grilled meat and chorizo. There’s also plenty of blueberry with sage and a hearty helping of plum pudding.
Of the 2022 vintage that is in barrel, Freeman says they picked two weeks earlier than normal, due to the intense heat wave. “We were jamming before Labor Day before it got hot. We were in the cadence to pick when things were ready. The whole estate ripens roughly at the same time, which is a challenge, but we get after it.”
They even had a bit of rain to contend with, but that did not faze them. “The heat was not a real problem,” says Freeman. “Maybe it was in 90s. Frankly, I don’t know what’s normal: I have only been there 3 years!”
Of harvesting, he says, “We do 40 tons using machine harvesting, but mostly the fruit is hand-picked in bins. I move the must around with bins. I don’t pump. I don’t use a crusher. I do more whole cluster Chardonnay here at Chalone. I get to make every decision. And there are just three of us now: the cellar master, a cellar worker and me.”
In many ways, it’s back to the beginning. And, hopefully, forward from here.
About the author
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
