'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison refuses to buy 100-year-old champagne due to guest's mistake

Wine gets better with age, and there are those rare ones that can be stored for as many as 100 years. But when it came to a century-old bottle of champagne, "Pawn Stars" boss Rick Harrison wasn't tempted enough to buy it. The biggest reason behind this was that the alcohol inside the bottle was completely ruined due to the guest’s lack of knowledge about storing it. Ultimately, no deal was made, and the guest had to walk away disappointed.

The item was a bottle of Dom Perignon that was made in 1921. Dom Perignon is a recognizable name around the world today, but back in 1921, it was put into production for the first time. The champagne is iconic and was named after a monk who lived in the 1700s. As per the guest, only 100 bottles of the 1921 edition ever made it to the United States, making it a truly rare item.

In 2004, long before this segment was taped, a 1921 Dom Perignon bottle sold for $8,000. However, the condition for that was that the alcohol inside was still drinkable. That was not the case with this one. The guest said that he had been storing the champagne in his liquor cabinet for many years, with the bottle sitting upright. That is not the correct way one store champagne, and the guest had no idea about this.

“Champagne has to be stored really cold,” Harrison explained, before adding, “And down on the cork. I guarantee you, if you open this thing up, you will get sick if you drink it. I don’t want to purchase it because it is not champagne inside anymore, I mean, it’s ruined.” However, the guest said that while the beverage inside might not be drinkable any longer, the rarity and the history of this particular bottle might be attractive to collectors.

Harrison saw the logic behind the guest’s argument and decided to call in an expert for a valuation. In came Jeff, proprietor of Marche Bacchus and a fine wine collector for a couple of decades. He loved what he saw as a bottle of 1921 Dom Perignon was a rare sight, even for a collector. However, he also had the same concerns as the pawn shop owner. He also pointed out some issues with the bottle.

The cork had dried up and shrunk, which resulted in some of the champagne inside evaporating from the space between the cork and the neck of the bottle. To prevent that from happening, one had to store the bottle upside down at 50 to 55 degrees with a 75% relative humidity. He also noted a lot of sedimentation in the bottle, meaning that the champagne inside was ruined.

The expert said that a collector might pay $1,000 for the bottle itself, but the champagne was worthless. Harrison refrained from offering a deal, as finding a collector who just wanted the bottle would have been too much of a hassle.

Watch the video here.

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