People raised on supermarket oil are often surprised by a fresh single-harvest pressing. It is greener, more bitter, and it catches at the back of the throat in a way that can make a first-time taster cough. None of that is a fault. It is the oil telling you it is alive.
The bitterness comes from polyphenols, the same compounds that make the oil stable and good for you. The peppery catch is one of them, oleocanthal, announcing itself directly. As an oil ages those edges soften, which is why a young pressing tastes nothing like the same oil will a year on.
Taste it the way you would a wine. Warm a little in a cupped hand, breathe it in for the cut grass and almond, then sip and let it coat the whole mouth before you swallow. Note where the pepper lands and how long the finish holds.
Then stop analysing and use it. Over warm bread, a bowl of white beans, a piece of grilled fish, or simply a good tomato and salt. A young oil is not a thing to save. It is at its best now, which is exactly why we made only enough to last the year.