Freeman Winery

Heintz Ranch Chardonnay

Of all the growers we have worked with in our 23 vintages, we have had the longest relationship with Charlie Heintz. In 2003, when we began sourcing fruit from his vineyard, Heintz was the only Chardonnay Freeman produced. We labeled the wine as Heintz Ranch Chardonnay.

Starting in 2004, Heintz became the backbone and the shining star for each vintage of our Ryo-fu Chardonnay. Once we began using Heintz Chardonnay for Ryo-fu, we didn’t have enough grapes to produce a separate, vineyard-designated wine. Finally, in 2024, we received enough Heintz for both the 2024 Ryo-fu and 10 special barrels of our second-ever Heintz Ranch Chardonnay.

Heintz is a third-generation farmer at his family’s ranch, which lies just northeast of the town of Occidental and very close to our Yu-ki Estate vineyard. Set in Green Valley at the western edge of  the Russian River Valley, the Heintz vineyard is set well within the Sonoma Coast appellation.

The deep, Goldridge sandy loam soil at Heintz provides the perfect home for the old-vine Chardonnay Charlie grows there. Heintz planted these Clone 4 vines, a cleaned-up version of Wente clone Chardonnay, in 1982, making them the oldest vines Freeman works with. They’re also the only split canopy vines Freeman sources. This old-school trellising system has worked wonderfully at Heintz for over 40 years, providing sunlight and air flow to the canopy and clusters.

It's typical for Heintz Ranch Chardonnay to be Freeman’s last-picked fruit. The only other site that could challenge it for the latest harvest date is nearby Hawk Hill. In 2024, we saw a series of mini heat waves in September which ripened all of our Pinot Noir. The Heintz Chardonnay always needs two to three more weeks on the vine than our Pinot Noir vineyards, even in a relatively warm year like 2024.  Just as all of the Pinot Noir fermentations were finishing up, we brought in 10 tons of wonderful Heintz Chardonnay in late September and early October.

The 2024 Heintz Ranch Chardonnay has a complex nose of ripe Gravenstein apples, peaches, cloves, nutmeg and toasted coconut. The apple and toasty notes play off of each other for the most prominent aroma, going back and forth as to which one takes the lead.  On the palate, the ample fruit flavors are balanced by near-perfect acidity, always a feature from Heintz Chardonnay. This ’24 Heintz is already enjoyable in late 2025, and it should develop for several years to come. Enjoy the wine through 2031.