72 overcharging

OK, so I'll try to do the voltage drop test tonight, but here's some new info. This past weekend when it was 60 degrees compared to "normal" 20 degrees for Dec/Jan in Vermont, I re-installed my almost new battery and fired it up. 14.7 V stone cold......not so scary. At high idle it started to climb but would not hit 15V. Then, after I punched it to pull off the choke, it settled to a 14.6 or .7 I didn't run it long enough to see if it would climb back up into the danger zone, but my thought is that before long it would be nice and warm under the hood. I'm thinking if the VR response is temp related, we might have our answer. My parts guy says that no battery should be subjected to 15+ volts period.....your thoughts? When it's freezing cold the battery won't boil, right?