Sometimes you just have to let out the horror.
Last night my tasting group had their monthly event, and I was served a wine blind that truly horrified me. The wine in question was the 2004 Langmeil Valley Floor Shiraz. There were two things immediately clear when I put glass to nose: the wine was an Australian Shiraz, and the wine was heavily influenced by American oak. All I could smell was warm blackberry compote covered with minty dill. The flavors were similar, except that the oak brought an even more unpleasant bitterness that was utterly overpowering. I managed two sips to evaluate the wine and no more. I went back to it later to see if the aromas improved, but the wood became even more dominant.
One of my good friends at the event liked the wine a bit more than I did, but noted the excessive extraction and overoaking. What was shocking were the three people who insisted that there was very little oak, and that it was clearly not American oak (even after the winery notes were produced showing the 100% new American oak reference). Bizarre!