Nastiest cork you've ever pulled?

WINE TALK
#1

I’ve pretty much come to expect moldy corks on old Rieslings by now; last weekend I removed the capsule of a ‘92 Spat. to discover what is probably the most disgusting cork I’ve yet to come across: black mold caked on so thick it looked like mud – wiping it all off was futile, so I cleaned the bottle after pulling the bugger. Wine was totally fine, btw.

It seems old Bdx often have pretty gross corks too … where do others commonly find nasty corks, and what’s the nastiest one you’ve ever pulled?

#2

1971 Auslese Riesling in my case. Same thing. Black mold everywhere - took about 5 minutes of scraping and wiping to get the top of the bottle clean. Good thing we cleaned it too though, the cork crumbled to bits into the bottle and we had to filter the wine. Imagine all that mold in there! Gross.

#3

Yet it was tasty as hell, right?

#4

I had one give me its best Don Rickles imitation. "Hey, wingnut . . . why are you poking me?

#5

It was! I can do no better than to reproduce the TN:

**1971 Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Wachenheimer Bohlig Riesling Auslese (Germany, Pfalz)**Deep golden colour. Drop dead gorgeous nose. Full-on botrytis scents for an Auslese, with vanilla, butterscotch, dried apricots and peaches, honey, chrysanthemum and marzipan. Some petrol there, but very much submerged under the rich golden tones. As expected, the palate had lots it sr obe of sweetness, in its place was beguiling elegant and complex panoply of dried apricots, dried figs, haw flakes, and a metallic, oyster shell minerality all held up by fresh acidity in a profound and brilliantly balanced package. Beautiful pairing with the scallop and prosciutto dish. Long finish was packed with metal-flacked oyster shell flavours , some rubbery petroleum and more dried figs. Incredibly good, heaunting wine, but I suspect it is starting to fade. Drink up! (94 pts)

#6

Thank you, Paul - well aged older Riesling is just spectacular…I remember the bottle Izzy Noznik opened in NYC - and I only got a small glass. Curses!

#7

Totally agreed! Like most people, I drink my Rieslings far too young.

#8

Nastiest cork you ever pulled!

That’s what she said!!

#9

Oh I win this one… I was inventorying a cellar in New Orleans. I pulled out a old Bordeaux and the cork was only half intact. I was able to pull the rest out with my finger and out came a cockroach!

#10

3 double magnums of '89 Castillo Ygay GRE, all from the same local importer. The cork of every single bottle was damp and moldy (mold at the top only). Never bought that again from the subject importer.

#11

[barf.gif] [winner.gif] [barf.gif]

my skin is so crawling right now … [barf.gif]

#12

That is SOOO New Orleans.

#13

Not exactly on topic but, I went to University in Kitchener-Waterloo, huge German population and Oktoberfest celebration. A buddy of mine and I were there for the opening ceremony and got to help push (knock) the cork (bung) in on the first keg. The nasty part is that that was at 2:00 in the afternoon and we were still in gear at 2:00 in the morning … nasty … ahhh, to be young and saturated.