The 2016 The Pioneer Shiraz is shaped by oak both aromatically and on the palate. This is no surprise, as Taylors seems to favor a profusion of oak in all of their red cuvées. There are notes of rum and raisin, black olive tapenade, roast meat, dripping, black pudding, blood plum, mulberry jam and licorice. This is intense, concentrated and full throttle, and to me, it speaks more of the Taylors house style than it does the Clare Valley. This is a lusty, full-throttle wine—no holds barred. It smells and tastes evocatively of a barrel hall, and despite how that sounds, I mean it positively. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.