The 2003 vintage in Oz and NZ

Sam Harrop is a New Zealander working for British retailer Marks & Spencer. He has passed his Master of Wine exams and is currently working on the dissertation (a rather interesting-sounding one on perceptions of brett in Syrah) which will finally qualify him to put the letters MW after his name. He's just back from a post-vintage tour down under and I thought you might be interested in his principal impressions, partly because of how they might impact on the wines on offer over the next year or two and partly because of what they illustrate about the preoccupations of...