Square, Plumb & Level (SPL)

Square, Plumb & Level (SPL) is about crafting high-quality, vineyard designate wine focused on wine drinkers with experimental and discerning palates. We espouse the idea that bigger is not always better, highlighting varietals/vineyards and winemaking methods that evoke a sense of place, subtlety over capacity, bottle by bottle.

“We came together during a time of transition, and a vision was born that lends itself to how we believe wine should be crafted. Much like great architecture, the design and expression of great wine must have an underlying structure that is SQUARE, PLUMB & LEVEL”

SPL Dry Creek Valley, Peterson Vineyard Red Blend

Blend:55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Cabernet Franc
Profile:Cassis, Blackcurrant, Plum, Tobacco
Aging:18 months in French Oak, 30% New
Production:723 cases

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2x 90pts & Top U.S. Red Blend recipient

 

 

 

 

2x 91pts recipient

 

Beverage Tasting Institute 92pts GOLD Medal, Cellar Selection

Delectable Wine App Score: 9.2 out of 10
Vivino Wine App Score: 4.3 out of 5

We chose Dry Creek Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from Bradford Mountain for its gentle minerality, spicy cedar notes and young tannin. As Cabs tend to be produced today, we ensure the final product is not over-extracted or over-oaked. On the flip-side, Cabernet Franc is rarely seen as a blending grape and only truly embraced in France; This piqued our interest. Our Cab Franc displays notes of dark plum and tobacco with a mildly spicy finish. Best decanted if you wish to consume now, or cellared and consumed 10 years from now. SPL is best paired with medium to hearty meats and game, grilled veggies, and ragout dishes.

Winemaker: Bill Knuttel
Bill was the founding Winemaker at Saintsbury Winery where he spent 13 years establishing that brand as an international leader in high-end Pinot Noir and Chardonnay rooted in the Burgundian style. Bill then spent 7 years as VP & Winemaker at Chalk Hill Winery specializing in ultra-premium Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris. From 2003 to 2011 Knuttel was Executive Winemaker at Dry Creek Vineyards where he completely re-honed the styles and quality of that winery’s extensive portfolio. We are pleased to have Bill as our Winemaker and close friend.

Peterson Vineyard
Peterson VineyardLocated in the Bradford Mountain area of Dry Creek Valley. Dry-farmed, hillside fruit boasting alluvial soils at an elevation ranging from 650′-1250’ putting it above the summer fog line.

Vines
Cane-pruned, relatively high-vigor 110R, 1103P, 140R and St. George rootstock

SPL Yamhill-Carlton, Libra Vineyard Pinot Noir

Wine bottles
Blend:100% Pinot Noir
Profile:Rose Petal, Dried Cherries, Subtle Brown Spice
Aging:10 months in French Oak, 15% New
Production:640 cases

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Beverage Tasting Institute SILVER Medal

Vivino Wine App Score: 4.0 out of 5

We chose the Yamhill-Carlton AVA as it typically yields a lower acidity, deeper color, and mouth-feel than that of neighboring regions; the wines have some of the darkest color of all Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs. We prefer to keep the grape center-stage; we do not blend with other varietals nor do we over extract or over oak in order to achieve a desired profile. This wine is elegant and strives to be a true representation of Pinot Noir.

Winemaker: Patrick Taylor

Mr. P. Andrew Taylor is a learned man of production and preservation. After being awarded his Bachelors and Masters of Science from the College of Agriculture at Oregon State University, he committed himself to the occupation of winemaking.

Libra Vineyard
Located 4 miles east of Carlton, Oregon in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. This vineyard boasts alluvial, loam and volcanic soil: 2/3 Willakenzie Marine Sedimentary, 1/3 Jory Volcanic stretching 330’-430’ in elevation.

Vines
The vineyard is planted to relatively high-vigor, cane-pruned Pommard, Dijon 777, and 115 root stock with an average age of 10 years for our wine.

SPL Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel

Wine bottles
Blend:100% Zinfandel
Profile:Black Plum, Pomegranate, White Pepper, Cedar
Aging:20 months in French Oak, 40% New
Production:200 cases

When it comes to California Zinfandel, we look no further than Dry Creek Valley in, arguably, one of the hottest areas of Sonoma Valley.

Winemaker: Bill Knuttel
Bill was the founding Winemaker at Saintsbury Winery where he spent 13 years establishing that brand as an international leader in high-end Pinot Noir and Chardonnay rooted in the Burgundian style. Bill then spent 7 years as VP & Winemaker at Chalk Hill Winery specializing in ultra-premium Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris. From 2003 to 2011 Knuttel was Executive Winemaker at Dry Creek Vineyards where he completely re-honed the styles and quality of that winery’s extensive portfolio. We are pleased to have Bill as our Winemaker and close friend.

Biglieri Vineyard
Located in the northern part of Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley is one of California’s top regions for growing Zinfandel.  The backbone o four Zinfandel is from 55-yr old vines in the Biglieri Vineyard at the southern edge of Dry Creek Valley.

Hand-harvested fruit was crushed and cold-extracted three days with vigorous irrigations for color and tannin early in the fermentation.  We decreased pumpovers after peak fermentation and the new wine was pressed off at dryness to avoid excess tannin.  We then racked the juice to 100% French Oak for 20 months.