Iconic Wines

Iconic Wines

ARTICLE - December 09, 2025

Is quality enough to explain what makes an iconic wine truly unique?

François Dugoua, Managing Director of Ulysse Cazabonne; Raimonds Tomsons, World’s Best Sommelier 2023; Stephen Browett, Chairman of Farr Vintners; and Pauline Vicard, co-founder of the ARENI Global think tank, reveal the often invisible dimensions that shape this very special status.

“An iconic wine must be different from all others”

They all agree on one point: quality is essential, but it is not enough. It guarantees precision, faithfulness to origin, and ageing potential. Yet, as Stephen Browett puts it, “an iconic wine must be different from any other wine.” It must stand out beyond technical perfection. Stephen Browett even specifies that

“an iconic wine must be a specific vintage of a specific wine”

and naturally cites Cos d’Estournel 2009 as a striking example of this uniqueness. Pauline Vicard recalls that, according to ARENI’s research, a great wine is based on five elements, from finesse to reputation. But an iconic wine requires something more.

“Like a literary classic, it broke the rules and changed the way people think.” It inspires, influences, and shifts boundaries. She even notes that “one can be an iconic wine without necessarily being a great wine.”

The memories shared by the speakers illustrate this idea of rupture. Raimonds Tomsons mentions his memory of a Château Batailley 1888 that evoked “the golden age of Europe.” Stephen Browett recalls a magnum of Lafleur 1947 perceived as “a fragment of pure history.” François Dugoua remembers an Ausone 1933 that “ultimately resembled nothing we had ever more or less tasted before.” In each of these cases, the iconic wine carries memory as much as flavor.

Very quickly, another dimension emerges. An iconic wine is also defined by the moment in which it is shared. It is a lived experience, both personal and collective. François Dugoua insists on

“the moment, the people, the atmosphere.”

Pauline Vicard recounts tasting Romanée Saint-Vivant 1999 with Aubert de Villaine at the Abbey of Saint-Vivant, which “changed her perspective.” She also recalls a Harlan Estate 1996 that “completely surprised” her.

Stephen Browett expresses this idea simply: “No one else in the world was living that experience that evening.” Raimonds Tomsons echoes this sentiment, recalling that a wine can become iconic if it captures

“a moment that nothing will ever be able to reproduce.”

“Wine is a profoundly emotional beverage”

This emotional dimension is reinforced by storytelling. Raimonds Tomsons sums it up by stating that “wine is a profoundly emotional beverage.” The words of the winemaker, the owner, or the person serving the wine alter perception. François Dugoua highlights the importance of place and cites the pagodas of Cos d’Estournel as an environment that imprints a particular depth on the wines tasted. An iconic wine is often one that carries a story as clearly as it does its taste.

And what about price? Is an iconic wine inevitably a very expensive wine? According to our speakers, price should be seen as a consequence of iconization rather than a condition for becoming an icon. Stephen Browett recalls that the 1982 vintage of Domaine de Trevallon struggled to sell at five pounds sterling on release. It was its later iconization that made it a wine that is now difficult to access.

“As soon as a legendary status is associated with a wine,” he notes, “it becomes expensive. It is inevitable.”

Ultimately, an iconic wine combines indisputable quality, lasting influence, and a decisive, personal moment of encounter with the taster. François Dugoua also observes that a great wine he has never tasted “will remain something desirable, but not necessarily iconic.” Perhaps it is through this combination that a wine moves from the perfection of a great wine to the grace of an iconic wine.

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