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.

The 2015 The Pioneer Shiraz is from the Clare Valley, and it seems this wine needs further time still to break free from the shackles of oak that bind it. The lingering tannin through the finish shows the pedigree of the wine, and it allows us to see even further ahead into its future. The fruit was 100% destemmed, fermented via inoculation in open-topped American oak barrels (30% new), pressed and matured in the same barrels with heads installed, for 12 months. I am surprised by the presence of oak in this wine, as the élevage period was not as long as many; however, the effect of it is pronounced. This will please many who love oak, and it has been done well.