It’s axiomatic that if you call your own wine an icon as so many South American producers do about their top-of-the-range brands, then it’s not an icon. How do you distinguish a genuine solid gold wine icon from fool’s gold? Bordeaux’ Château Lafite and d’Yquem, Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Champagne’s Krug are blue chip icons. An icon is a wine that’s earned its stripes with a proven track record of quality and longevity, a recognition factor and more often than not an investment value.