{"id":94255,"date":"2025-12-09T12:10:38","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T11:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/vins-iconiques-2\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T10:22:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T09:22:09","slug":"iconic-wines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/en\/home\/cos-chronicle\/iconic-wines\/","title":{"rendered":"Iconic Wines"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”custom-intro”]<\/p>\n

I<\/span>s quality enough to explain what makes an iconic wine truly unique?<\/p>\n

Fran\u00e7ois Dugoua, Managing Director of Ulysse Cazabonne; Raimonds Tomsons, World\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”94237″ img_size=”500×600″ alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeInDown”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeInDown”]<\/p>\n

\u201cAn iconic wine must be different from all others\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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, \u201can iconic wine must be different from any other wine.\u201d It must stand out beyond technical perfection. Stephen Browett even specifies that<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” el_width=”20″ accent_color=”#b22020″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201can iconic wine must be a specific vintage of a specific wine\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” el_width=”20″ accent_color=”#b22020″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]and naturally cites Cos d\u2019Estournel 2009 as a striking example of this uniqueness. Pauline Vicard recalls that, according to ARENI\u2019s research, a great wine is based on five elements, from finesse to reputation. But an iconic wine requires something more.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”94240″ img_size=”500×600″ alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” el_width=”20″ accent_color=”#b22020″][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeInDown”]<\/p>\n

\u201cLike a literary classic, it broke the rules and changed the way people think.\u201d It inspires, influences, and shifts boundaries. She even notes that \u201cone can be an iconic wine without necessarily being a great wine.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” el_width=”20″ accent_color=”#b22020″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]The memories shared by the speakers illustrate this idea of rupture. Raimonds Tomsons mentions his memory of a Ch\u00e2teau Batailley 1888 that evoked \u201cthe golden age of Europe.\u201d Stephen Browett recalls a magnum of Lafleur 1947 perceived as \u201ca fragment of pure history.\u201d Fran\u00e7ois Dugoua remembers an Ausone 1933 that \u201cultimately resembled nothing we had ever more or less tasted before.\u201d In each of these cases, the iconic wine carries memory as much as flavor.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”94303″ img_size=”500×600″ alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeInDown”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

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. Fran\u00e7ois Dugoua insists on<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” el_width=”20″ accent_color=”#b22020″][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeInDown”]<\/p>\n

\u201cthe moment, the people, the atmosphere.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” el_width=”20″ accent_color=”#b22020″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Pauline Vicard recounts tasting Roman\u00e9e Saint-Vivant 1999 with Aubert de Villaine at the Abbey of Saint-Vivant, which \u201cchanged her perspective.\u201d She also recalls a Harlan Estate 1996 that \u201ccompletely surprised\u201d her.<\/p>\n

Stephen Browett expresses this idea simply: \u201cNo one else in the world was living that experience that evening.\u201d Raimonds Tomsons echoes this sentiment, recalling that a wine can become iconic if it captures<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” el_width=”20″ accent_color=”#b22020″][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeInDown”]<\/p>\n

\u201ca moment that nothing will ever be able to reproduce.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” el_width=”20″ accent_color=”#b22020″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cWine is a profoundly emotional beverage\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This emotional dimension is reinforced by storytelling. Raimonds Tomsons sums it up by stating that \u201cwine is a profoundly emotional beverage.\u201d The words of the winemaker, the owner, or the person serving the wine alter perception. Fran\u00e7ois Dugoua highlights the importance of place and cites the pagodas of Cos d\u2019Estournel 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.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”94246″ img_size=”500×600″ alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeInDown”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”fadeInDown”][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” el_width=”20″ accent_color=”#b22020″][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeInDown”]<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as a legendary status is associated with a wine,\u201d he notes, \u201cit becomes expensive. It is inevitable.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” el_width=”20″ accent_color=”#b22020″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Ultimately, an iconic wine combines indisputable quality, lasting influence, and a decisive, personal moment of encounter with the taster. Fran\u00e7ois Dugoua also observes that a great wine he has never tasted \u201cwill remain something desirable, but not necessarily iconic.\u201d Perhaps it is through this combination that a wine moves from the perfection of a great wine to the grace of an iconic wine.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”94243″ img_size=”500×600″ alignment=”center” css_animation=”fadeInDown”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fran\u00e7ois Dugoua, directeur g\u00e9n\u00e9ral d\u2019Ulysse Cazabonne, Raimonds Tomsons, meilleur sommelier du monde 2023, Stephen Browett, pr\u00e9sident de Farr Vintners, et Pauline Vicard, cofondatrice du think tank ARENI Global, r\u00e9v\u00e8lent les dimensions souvent invisibles qui construisent ce statut si particulier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5558,"featured_media":94235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[128,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-carnets-de-route","category-article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5558"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94255"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94337,"href":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94255\/revisions\/94337"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.estournel.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}