Last night, Jean plank-grilled some salmon and put a bottle of Gruet
Brut in the freezer for a quick chill. When she asked me to open it
later, I pulled the cork only to have an icy plug push out, followed by
a geyser of half the bottle in thick, foamy bubbles. This was the
result of a gigantic plug of ice still inside the bottle, nucleating the
effervescence. By the time the foaming had subsided we were left with
half a bottle that was flat and... CORKED!!!

So, back to the "ready-to-drink" rack for a room temp bottle of:

2002 Verget Chablis "Cuvée de la Butte"
color: pale gold
nose: initially oaky, slight minerality, a hint of oxidation
palate: citrussy, more in the grapefruit vein than lemon, slight
minerality, tart acidity but lacking in crispness nonetheless

A cooling sleeve placed over the bottle brought it down to drinking
temperature in 10 min or so, and it was better than my first taste at
room temp. This was the last of a few bottles of Verget Chablis
purchased at a steep discount at Sam's years ago. Like the others, the
house style of Verget doesn't translate well to Chablis. This wine was
too oaky and lacking in focus. It tasted like a decent but not
outstanding CalChard with some age on it.

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Aug 14, 1:23�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Last night, Jean plank-grilled some salmon and put a bottle of Gruet
> Brut in the freezer for a quick chill. �When she asked me to open it
> later, I pulled the cork only to have an icy plug push out, followed by
> a geyser of half the bottle in thick, foamy bubbles. �This was the
> result of a gigantic plug of ice still inside the bottle, nucleating the
> effervescence. �By the time the foaming had subsided we were left with
> half a bottle that was flat and... CORKED!!!
>
> So, back to the "ready-to-drink" rack for a room temp bottle of:
>
> 2002 Verget Chablis "Cuv�e de la Butte"
> color: pale gold
> nose: initially oaky, slight minerality, a hint of oxidation
> palate: citrussy, more in the grapefruit vein than lemon, slight
> minerality, tart acidity but lacking in crispness nonetheless
>
> A cooling sleeve placed over the bottle brought it down to drinking
> temperature in 10 min or so, and it was better than my first taste at
> room temp. �This was the last of a few bottles of Verget Chablis
> purchased at a steep discount at Sam's years ago. �Like the others, the
> house style of Verget doesn't translate well to Chablis. �This wine was
> too oaky and lacking in focus. �It tasted like a decent but not
> outstanding CalChard with some age on it.
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.cwdjr.net


Nice note, I agree re Verget.
I confess I was reading too fast,. Read title, was scanning and missed
"Gruet Brut". So I'm thinking its a Chablis with " thick, foamy
bubbles// effervescence// foaming "
Makes more sense reading carefully. (insert embarrassment emoticon)

Mark Lipton > wrote in
:


> A cooling sleeve placed over the bottle brought it down to drinking
> temperature in 10 min or so, and it was better than my first taste at
> room temp. This was the last of a few bottles of Verget Chablis
> purchased at a steep discount at Sam's years ago. Like the others,
> the house style of Verget doesn't translate well to Chablis. This
> wine was too oaky and lacking in focus. It tasted like a decent but
> not outstanding CalChard with some age on it.
>
> Mark Lipton
>
Interesting observation esp since Verget's St. Veran is usually a pretty
good white Burgundy IMHO


--
Joseph Coulter, cruises and vacations
www.josephcoulter.com

877 832 2021
904 631 8863 cell

"Mark Lipton" wrote ...........
>
> Last night, Jean plank-grilled some salmon and put a bottle of Gruet
> Brut in the freezer for a quick chill. When she asked me to open it
> later, I pulled the cork only to have an icy plug push out, followed by
> a geyser of half the bottle in thick, foamy bubbles. This was the
> result of a gigantic plug of ice still inside the bottle, nucleating the
> effervescence. By the time the foaming had subsided we were left with
> half a bottle that was flat and... CORKED!!!
>

LOL - Sorry Mark, I apologise for laughing at your misfortune!!!!!!!!

st.h

st.helier wrote:

>
> LOL - Sorry Mark, I apologise for laughing at your misfortune!!!!!!!!

That's all right, milud. Your namesake laughed unapologetically at the
time. It was quite comical, even to me, and fortunately Jean
volunteered to clean up the mess (we were dining al fresco so it wasn't
too bad).

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net