I am happy that some Italian winemakers and others around the world lower the amount of oak during the wine making process. A negative example of too much oak is the 2007 Castello di Rampolla Chianti Classico. This wine had a wall of tannins when young so I waited a few years. With the result that the oak influence got even more obvious. The tannins are a bit rough now and the bouquet is dominated by wood aspects.
I would wish all winemakers are very careful in using new oak. And if new oak plays a role that the barrels are of best quality. This is very often not the case IMO. And the result is drying wood tannins that are absolutely not appealing. Unfortunately I have 6 more bottles of this wine and have no idea what to do with them because there is almost no second market for Chianti Classico in Germany.
