The Grand Old House, built in 1908, is one of the most significant historic buildings in the Cayman Islands. It was converted into a restaurant in 1969, after years of continuous transformation and repurposing from being used as a Sunday School for local children, a hospital for soldiers wounded in World War II, a beauty parlour, and as a shelter for island residents during storms and hurricanes. Today, the Grand Old House is one of Cayman’s top restaurants and one of the leading destinations for wine lovers in Grand Cayman, with its numerous wine awards for its large wine collection and impressive wine list.

Grand Old House Wine Club

With a major focus on wine, it’s no surprise that the Grand Old House has its very own wine club. Members are offered a range of benefits, including being treated to multiple wine-tasting events monthly and their own vaults. The Jamaica Observer team had the privilege of being invited to a tasting of 20-plus-year-old celebrated Italian wines hosted by Grand Old House Wine Director Luciano De Riso.

What we tasted

It was surprising to see so many people turning up on time to a wine tasting at 5:30 pm in the middle of the week. Here are my impressions of the wines in the order that we tasted them:

1990 Antinori “Tignanello” Toscana — When this wine was released, it was hailed as possibly the greatest Tignanello ever, receiving very high ratings from the critics at that time. In March 2009 the powerful Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate gave this wine 94 points with the following notes: “Pale garnet-brick. Intense gamey / savoury aromas with an undercurrent of dark cherry jam, fresh cracked black pepper and a pleasant hint of mushroom. The palate reveals lots of life left in this wine, giving a crisp backbone of acid and a medium+ level of finely grained tannins. Good concentration of dried fruit flavours, a pleasant savoury meatiness and some spice. Very long finish. Drink now-2012+”. Well, we tasted it in March 2015 and while there was still some fruit present, the effects of age were apparent as I felt that this wine had passed its prime. The wine was left to breathe for about an hour and on the nose my bottle showed a hint of oxidation; while not so powerful on the palate it was still a treat and I was happy to experience a 25-year-old collector’s favourite.

1993 Prunotto Barolo Bussia — hailing from the Piedmont region of Italy and made with 100% Nebbiolo, Barolo is one of the world’s most fascinating wines because of its aging ability, some reaching maturity in up to 40 years. 1993 was not the best year in the region, but this estate turned out a very good wine, putting it on the map as a result. A good wine at 22 years old, now more medium-bodied, with a firm acidity and medium to full tannin.

1994 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino — At a point in time, this type of wine was considered one of Italy’s rarest wines. Produced in the Tuscany region, Brunello di Montalcino is now one of Italy’s most famous and prestigious wines in which Banfi played a key role in making that happen. This wine is made with 100% Brunello, which is the local name for the Sangiovese Grosso clone. Unfortunately this 1994 vintage was way over the hill, showing fortified wine-like characteristics, lacking fruit, and was out of balance. While I have tasted some amazing Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino wines before, this bottle of 1994 was my least favourite at the tasting.

1995 Masi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Mazzano — My favourite of the tasting, Masi’s Cru (single vineyards) wines are reference-point wines, from terroirs identified as the finest within Valpolicella. The historic Mazzano vineyard has been renowned for quality since the 12th century, and its austere, majestic wine is a prototypical Amarone. On release, the tasting notes suggested that this Mazzano can age 10-15 years or longer. We tasted it at age 20 years old and this Amarone was delicious, the fruit was integrated, balanced and structured with flavours of plums, sweet cherries and candied fruit. Experts suggest that Mazzano wines can age 35 to 40 years. I hope Luciano De Riso holds some of these bottles of Masi for another 15 years.

Christopher Reckord – Entrepreneur & Wine Enthusiast. Send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com. Instagram: @chrisreckord Twitter: @Reckord