96+ Points - Philip Rich | 96 Points - Campbell Mattinson
David Bicknell is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most influential winemaking talents, who has played a significant role in shaping the modern Australian wine landscape. After a celebrated tenure at Oakridge Wines, Bicknell recently departed the winery he had led to great heights for nearly 25 years.
This exciting new chapter for Bicknell allows him to turn his full attention to Bicknell FC, the personal winemaking project he has been carefully building over the past decade. A product of an extremely small vintage, only 170 dozen of the 2025 Bicknell FC 'Applecross' Chardonnay was produced. A stunning Yarra Valley Chardonnay which is already drawing high acclaim, this is sure to sell out fast.
"96 Points. I’m getting peach, I’m getting lemonade, I’m getting cedar, mineral, curry leaves, par and flint. All this is built in tandem with over- and under-tones of vanilla, cooked apple, crushed fennel and chamomile. It’s fresh and energetic, in nature, but it’s also a masterclass of texture and composure. When I wrote the piece on Bicknell’s departure from Oakridge recently, it smashed site-traffic records here. It did for a reason. Bicknell makes bloody great wine, and the goodwill that his wines have built is bloody huge. Drink this wine and know why. $65? Really. If you can buy a dozen, do. If not, any bottle that you can."- Campbell Mattinson, campbellmattinson.com
"96 Points+. Barrel fermented and matured in older French puncheons. Bright green gold. Pure fruited and complex, with aromas of white nectarine and apple blossom, together with a gentle waft of sea spray. There's a gentle fleshiness on the palate matched by the wine's precise, perfectly integrated acidity. Beautifully balanced from beginning to end; a seamless wine to drink now and over the next four to six years. $65. 13.5% alc. Drink: 2026 - 2032. Screwcap"- Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion.
"96 Points. Here’s a beautiful wine. It sits shy of medium weight, the flint and steel of Bicknell Chardonnay™ with a distinct, ticklish, briny minerality woven in threads through reserved green apple juice, just-ripe nectarine and a dash of vanilla cream lending the additional weight. Seamless, flowing, cooling, just enough sternness. It’s an architectural, serious chardonnay but with a sense of reserve, primness, preened grace. And delicious and refreshing. We’re good here. Tasted: July 26 13.5% alc. $65 Screwcap Drink: 2026 - 2034+"- Mike Bennie, The Wine Front.
