Ferrand Côtes-du-Rhône Vieilles Vignes Cuvée Antique 2018

92 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): " The old vine bottling of Côtes-du-Rhône from Domaine de Ferrand is produced from an organically-farmed 3.5 hectare parcel of vines, with the age of the plantations ranging from fifty to ninety years of age! The vineyard is planted to roughly ninety percent grenache, with the balance a field blend of syrah, mourvèdre and cinsault. Everything is fermented together in cement with indigenous yeasts, with a varying percentage of whole clusters and aged in cement vats for eighteen months prior to bottling. The 2018 Vielles Vignes offers up a deep and complex nose of black raspberries, spit-roasted game, stony soil tones, a bit of French roast, garrigue and a topnote of woodsmoke. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, tangy and complex, with a fine core of creamy old vine fruit, firm, ripe tannin and a long, beautifully balanced finish that closes with plenty of pepperiness and a lovely savory element from the whole clusters. This is a dynamite, black fruity bottle of Côtes-du-Rhône that is built to age for a long time and really deserves some bottle age before drinking it with abandon. Great juice. 2023-2045 (Sep/Oct 2020)"

90 points Joe Czerwinski (Wine Advocate): "The black cherry-scented 2018 Cotes du Rhone Cuvee Antique Vieilles Vignes is almost all Grenache, aged in concrete. Medium to full-bodied, expansive and silky, it's a serious budget alternative to wines from the various crus of the Southern Rhône. With ample concentration and a gentle dusting of tannins on the finish, it should even drink well for 6-7 years from the vintage. Drink: 2020-2025. (Nov 2020)"