dom perignon

-e-

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Sep 26, 2013
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I'm not sure if this would be the right place to put this, but my grandparents have two sealed bottles of Dom perignon, one is 1976 I'm pretty sure, and the other is around 1983-1986. They have always been kept in a cabinet in the basement where the temperature is consistently roughly 55° give or take a few. My grandmother and grandfather can not speak english, only italian, so she asked me last year to try and find out for her how much they were worth and if I can try and sell them, but I totally forgot about it until I joined this site last week. I did take pictures but I have to find if iI sent then to my email because they were on my old phone, so I will post some pics and the exact years asap.
Thanks for all answers.
 

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Until someone pipes in - I searched Google and got a bunch of hits. Here are one (of many)...How much is my 1976 dom perignon 750 ml bottle worth?
 

'caveat emptor'.
Condition is everything; and, unfortunately that cannot be guaranteed NWS the OP's statement--which I can believe as being the extent of his knowledge.
If I owned it, I'd keep it for 'bragging rights' and create a reason why I'd never sell it. On the other hand, if I opened it, it would be in the company of others who understand that one result may be the taste of vinegar. I'd be the first to taste it and the first to tell others not to try it--without first signing a Release of Liability agreement.
Don.........
PS: Yes, I, too, have a couple bottles of DP from 'back in the day' and will some day open them--but I'll also have a 'fresh' bottle on ice should the 'vintage' bottle turn out to be a dud.
 

Were they stored upright or on their side? I would sell them but that is just me. Whats the point of holding on to a bottle of liquid that may or may not be good.
 

LOL! Reminded me of about 30 yrs ago, my hairdresser(of all ppl), got busted for bootlegging DP, down here in S. Fl.
He always touted he'd sell me a bottle (the BIG one) for $60 bucks, (I think it was, maybe $40). He must of moved enough of it, the tax mans' ears went up. There's usually a news story, to these memories of mine, but that was sooooo long ago, I remember hearing about it on the news one night! LOL!
It's not easy finding a good hairdresser down here! LOL! :BangHead:

DP flows free in the fountains of the Westin Diplomat on beach(at least it does when I'm there)! LOL! :laughing7:
I did open some 3 yr old Pinot the other week, BLEK! :tongue3:
yep, caveat emptor on that kinda stuffs. Good suggestion Mackeydon!
 

I actually have a Seal empty bottle of Dom...Im guesing for a Bar's display or something..I know its worth about 20-30 bucks...which means nothing to you..lol
 

They have always been stored upright Jayman. They are both my Nonna, and Nonno's and they want to get rid of them since they will never open them. They also have about 10 other bottles of liquor that I think may have some value as well. The Dom has been constantly stored standing up in a cabinet in the cellar. Year round the cellar stays roughly 55°.
 

...The Dom has been constantly stored standing up in a cabinet in the cellar...

Hello -e-,

That is not the proper way to store wine. It should be stored horizontally, in order to keep the cork moist & the seal intact.

Winnigan-056.jpg
 

Actually, with champagne such as Dom perignon, you should never store it on its side if you are planning to store it for long periods of time. My Nonna and Nonna who have been making wine for 60 years knew this and when they were given the bottles as*gifts, knew they were not going to be opened so made sure to stand them up right.
 

Champagne will eat at the cork if stored on its side for long periods of time, which in turn will ruin the champagne.
 

And by no means am I trying to take advantage of someone, I will let them know if they do not already that there of course is a chance the actual dp will be no good. I guess the real answer I'm looking for would be a good number to ask which would make it so if it turns out it is no good, the buyer wouldn't feel terrible, and yet if it turns out to be fine, I myself would not feel guilty that i did not get my grandparents what they honestly should have gotten.
 

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Better drink it dude... it will be worth the price you have in mind if you'd rather consume it...
 

Hey -e-,

The champagne world seems to subscribe to a different school of thought on this matter:

L1180621.JPG

"Like most of the major champagne houses in Reims, the cellars at Taittinger
are located in cavernous Gallo-Roman chalk pits dating from the fourth century."

L1180609.JPG

"Just a few of the 3 million bottles of champagne in the cellars at Taittinger. There are another 18 million bottles of Taittinger champagne
stored in another cellar in the center of France. The guide was purposefully vague about the exact location. I wonder why..."

L1180719.JPG

"1874, 1904, 1943, 1945... Exceptionally old bottles of champagne that are part of Pommery's historical archive."

dom-perignon-in-the-cellars-chalon-sur-saone.jpg
 

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I'm not a champagne expert or connoisseur or anything, I actually do not drink at all. However I do, do a lot of research on certain things I have questions about before I resort to posting my question on a forum to get the experts input. Maybe I read it wrong, or maybe they didnt put accurate information in their article, but on the articles I looked at, they did say that the proper way to store champagne is to store it on its side, but they also said if you are planning on storing it for a long period of time, to never ever store it on its side but to store it up right because the champagne eats at the cork and that will destroy the champagne. So that's what made me think my grandparents had it stored correctly. I'll take your word on it though. I'm sure you know much more on the subject then me, and since I'm getting the info from you directly, I absolutely believe you more then a post that could be from anybody. Thank you for the answer, the last thing I want to do is spread false information.
 

Champagne should not be stored standing up (unless its short term). Champagne eating a cork is nothing I have ever heard and I am pretty sure it is impossible. Light and temperature would impact the cork more. Champagne has the exact same alcohol content as wine does. Dom stores their own Champagne on its side (as seen above) in a cellar for a reason. So the cork doesn't dry out, crumble and the seal is compromised. There is a chance your bottles are ruined. The only reason I would store Champagne upright would be if it was short term and to make more room for other bottles. Long term storage should be horizontal.

If you are storing things for a few years there is nothing wrong with upright. If you are storing for long term definitely store it on its side in a cool dark place.
 

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I'm not sure if this would be the right place to put this, but my grandparents have two sealed bottles of Dom perignon, one is 1976 I'm pretty sure, and the other is around 1983-1986. They have always been kept in a cabinet in the basement where the temperature is consistently roughly 55° give or take a few. My grandmother and grandfather can not speak english, only italian, so she asked me last year to try and find out for her how much they were worth and if I can try and sell them, but I totally forgot about it until I joined this site last week. I did take pictures but I have to find if iI sent then to my email because they were on my old phone, so I will post some pics and the exact years asap.
Thanks for all answers.

A 1976 Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon 750ml bottle is valued at between $500 - $700 in the United States. The average retail cost is $654. The average auction cost is $573.

However, if it is a Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon Oenotheque, it is valued a bit higher at between $1000 - $3000. The average retail cost is $2946 while the average auction cost is $1191.
If it is an Oenotheque, it will say so on the label.

A 1983 Dom Perignon is valued at between $200 - $400. The average retail cost is $350. The average auction cost is $228.

- EDIT-
I forgot to mention that the second bottle can only be a 1983 or 1985. Those were the only two vintages produced in the time period you gave.
 

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Thank you Jayman, and Surf for the CORRECT information. Just goes to prove what my teachers in high school would always say, " don't use information from web sites that can be edited by anybody at any time in your research papers." Yet I always would. Thankfully this is the first time it gave me false information.

Thank you, Allen as well. Its a shame the odds I would get anywhere near that much for these bottles is slim. I'll talk to my Grandparents and ask them if the bottles have always been up right, or if they were just put back in up right after she took them out to show me. The bottles as far as I can remember are in pretty good shape. If I remember correctly the only flaw I can think of is one of the points on the shield very slightly stopped sticking to the bottle.

Jayman, and Surf, is there anyway for me to inspect the Cork and foil to give me an idea if the cork is still in good shape? Like would there be any tell tale signs to look for that would suggest the cork dried out?
 

Real champagne is stored/aged in the bottle.It's kept on a 45 degree angle,cork end down.Immediately after bottling a "CAP",like a beer bottle cap,is placed on the bottle for aging and the bottles are turned 1/2 turn,3 times per year.
When deemed ready for sale,the CAP is removed along with the yeast that has collected behind it.
That is when the cork is installed.
 

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