Tasting young Cabernet on release is occasionally unfun, with tannins working against drinkability (and costing Cabernet some fans for sure). This Juniper Three Fields Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is a great example – it’s super ambitious for a $32 red but angular. Sourced from the 1971 Juniper Estate plantings in Margaret River, with the blend including 5% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc. It’s a firm, drying red of dry extract and structure – a bit bitter, a bit huffy and grumpy, but there’s power in all the angles. A red for the future, but all angles now.

THE VERDICT

• Best drinking: later. Give it five years
• Score (out of 20): 17
• Score (out of 100): 90
• Alcohol %: 14
• RRP (in $AUD): 32
• Winery website: https://www.juniperestate.com.au/
• Would I buy it?: just a glass