Serradinha Encruzado Arinto Vinho Branco 2023

Press 4 White • August/September 2026 Direct Press Selection

António Marques da Cruz is the winemaker and owner of the small seven hectare Serradinha estate in the town of Leiria about halfway between Lisbon and Porto, not far from the Atlantic coast. The Cruz family have maintained the estate since 1890 and in 1994 Serradinha became the first winery in Portugal to be certified organic, though his father started working organically in the late 1970s. His father also helped introduce the modern farmer's market movement into Portugal.

António told me seven hectares is perfect for him because he can work the vineyards himself. He is the only full-time employee, and gets part-time help throughout the year as needed. Any more land than that and he says he is “no longer working with vines but with spreadsheets,” which is why he left his previous career in plastics back in 2003 to start making wine with his father.

He tends to make lower alcohol wines which run contrary to the wines most associate with Portugal, and yet his wines are some of the most profound and age-worthy we've encountered. There are few who embody the ethos of the small, independent winemaker as well as António, with wines that so clearly express a passion and identity that can never be duplicated or scaled up.