I have tasted some heavily oaked wines from Australia and found them to be okay with the right food combination. I reserve the right to change my mind in the future. Today I am a Macon person, tomorrow, I don't know. More and more I see California Chardonnays benefiting from more judiscious use of Oak . Too much oak tends to mask the natural flavor of a grape and in the end, too many people using too much oak results in the consumer getting too many wines that taste the same.
Variety is the spice of life.
Oak is not necessarily the spice of all wine. I need to elaborate on my answer regarding the allowance of oak extract. Because I firmly believe in free and open competition, winemakers should be allowed to add whatever they want to the wine. Consumers need information, first and foremost. Whether it be a synthetic cork, oak essence, or lemon juice.