Notes from Louis/Dressner:

"In the isolated village of Leiria, António Marques da Cruz runs his small family estate, Quinta da Serradinha. Wine has been produced by the Cruz family for many generations, but António is the first to dedicate himself full-time to the craft. After lending a helping hand to his father in 2003, he fell in love with the land and never left, eventually producing his first autonomous vintage in 2008.

Serradinha means “little mountain”, and all of the vines are just outside the winery. The youngest vines were planted by António’s father in 1995, and the oldest by his grandfather between 1952 and 1967. Arinto, Encruzado and Fernão Pires are planted for white (15% of the production), Castelão, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Miuda and Baga for red. The soils are all limestone based, with some parcels heavier in sand and others in clay. Most vines are planted in guyot, though the oldest are still in goblet. Antonio very rarely works the soils, and when he does it’s only superficially. The estate has been worked organically since 1978 and was certified in 1994. In fact, it’s actually the first viticultural estate in Portugal to receive certification!

It is of note to mention a unique decorative element: each bottle is doted with a wooden ladybug on the cork. The story goes that António’s father was about to open a bottle when a real one landed right on top of. This was right around the time of the transmission of the estate, and António found it so beautiful and inspiring that he decided to symbolize the moment with each bottle."