I’m sure many will feel like this is “playing your hand”, but wondering if any one has any great ringers for blind tasting?
One of my friends always used Musar, and that was brutal. Mount Mary Quintet always works quite well. Clos Saron with some age has been a major curveball in Rhone tastings for me (or just in general!), but wondering what other ideas people have?
Rarely has Pinot stumped people, so I’m always looking for good recos there.
There is a chemist in the Bay Area who used to use 2 buck Chuck chards that he’d keep in a gallon jug with different oak chips and would add citric acid and would fool lots of people!
I will try to ponder your pinot ringer - I recall some confusion with Sangiovese and some Paso Robles Rhône clones in the past, but I forget the particulars.
Great question! I will ‘rack’ my brain and try to come up with some!
I’m no savant with blind tastings, however I have seen some Greek wines throw people off. Wines with Malagousia as a varietal for one.
Pinot ringers, yeah, I’ll be pondering that one for a bit.
Ian - have you ever tried a Mt. Etna Nerello Mascalese as a Pinot ringer? I think many of them have a Pinot tinge tothem, albeit with more minerality.
Beychevelle 1959; the best Burgundy Bordeaux has ever produced. Dead ringer for great Grand Cru Vosne; it has fooled many top industry palates.
To me, the Etna wines (which I love) generally show their origins in a warm climate. Their alcohol level is also a big distinguisher. I can’t imagine mistaking them for pinot, though I think nerello mascalese can resemble a maturing nebbiolo or Brunello.
Are you looking for a ringer in a pinot tasting or a pinot that could be a ringer in another kind of tasting?
I put a '99 Mastrojanni Brunello up against a '99 Monthelie-Duhairet Volnay-Champans and a '99 Produttori normale Barbaresco, and they were damned similar. This was circa 2007.
If you’re looking to stump people in a blind Pinot Noir tasting then throw in Eyrie’s Pinot Meunier…
Anything from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand or Eastern Europe. Languedoc-Roussillon, too.
Ringers for what? I find your suggestions a bit confusing, because for me, “ringer” means a bottle that is put amid blind wines in a tasting with set theme, seeing if people will pick it out or not. Usually the wine has to be at least tangentially related to the theme, eg. putting a new world Bordeaux blend in a blind Médoc tasting, a Prestige Cuvée Champagne in a Franciacorta tasting or a bottle of cider in a tasting of natural pét-nats.
I’ve seen older Rayas called Burgundy GC many times…
I love to put a TOP Austrian Grüner Veltliner into a white Burgundy tasting … sure it has to be totally dry …
Also a fine ringer for white Burgs: SGAMINEGG - one of the best Austrian whites outside the Wachau, made by Sepp MUSTER (a 50:50 Chardonnay/Sauvignon blanc blend) - usually dry, only the 2011 has some RS
Rayas 1988 once was the best “Burg” among 19 Grand cru Burgundies 1988/89 … 
Not totally. I’ve been speaking with people several recently about ringers, and thought it might be a fun topic of discussion.
Nothing specific really. I’m just curious what others use in certain situations. I’ve used Musar and Mount Mary Quintet in Bordeaux tastings with fascinating results, so just wondering what other wines are super hard to pick out in a line up that have been reliable for others, that’s all.
That makes much more sense! Saying these wines just as “ringers” without any context doesn’t really say anything, but instead saying “using these wines as ringers in Bordeaux tastings” gives all the relevant information, thank you.
I can perfectly understand how these wines can be fun and even difficult ringers in a Bordeaux lineup. Most likely I could pretty easily pick up a younger Musar among equally aged Bordeaux wines, but I can imagine it would be much more difficult if the wines were older, say +20 yo.
One of my favorite ringer tricks is to put Boutari Naoussa Grande Reserve among equally old Nebbiolo wines. Doesn’t really stand out from the crowd.
Fool me once, shame on me.
Fool me twice, shame on you.
Ringers? I thought you were above such games!
Aged Qupe and Edmunds Saint John Syrahs fit right in to a tasting of Northern Rhones. I think they’d work when young too if the Rhones are also young. The fun part of this is that they’re often just as good as (or even better than) Rhones that are much more expensive.
A friend of mine recently brought a bottle of “Paradoxe”, a white made from malbec, to a blind tasting. I thought it was sake.
Personally I love to throw in older Mas Daumas Gassac (or other temperate Languedoc Cabernets like Mas de Chimeres “Heretique”), Portugese whites, and Ahr Spätburgunder. They’re never easy to pin down and always interesting to discuss.
Old traditional Rioja for mature Burgundy.
Modern Rioja for California Cab
Mature Cristom from Oregon for Burgundy
I’ve seen some of those fancy Tuscan/Bolgheri/Umbrian merlots do very well when poured blind among a panel of right bank BDX
Unfortunately their names are all confusing and don’t seem to be associated with the estate, so keeping track of them is harder than it should be.