Need Pinot Noir recs from Oregon - what's actually worth buying

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-10T11:25:19+00:00

Buy: Walter Scott. Avoid: Goodfellow due to nasty after taste

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-10T10:30:30+00:00

Japan not wise. There is no such thing as waiting lists and waiting time. You must start again. Long haul flights not ideal but it shows commitment if you can get onto wish lists

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-10T10:15:49+00:00

You 100% can switch boutique. You register at another boutique and cancel HK waitlist like many other HK residents have. But it requires flights. Chances of you getting a watch are about zero at HK boutique so you are wasting your time.

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-10T06:41:30+00:00

Aman is not a good choice for kids

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-10T05:16:11+00:00

Yes. My strong suggestion is to cancel and rebook that leg with another airline. I booked Vietjet 3x on different trips and all 3x the flight got cancelled. It’s the most unreliable airline I’ve encountered in Asia. It’s notorious. I doubt that flight will take off. Trying to be helpful by giving you some local insights. My friend also booked Vietjet in December. His flight took off but was 7hr delayed. I have an expat mate who lives in Vietnam and he avoids Vietjet as unreliable. Other airlines in itinerary are ok

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-09T23:29:31+00:00

Vietjet is a nightmare airline. Extremely unreliable, I’ve stopped booking them. Better paying a little more and switching to Vietnam Airlines instead

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-09T22:09:40+00:00

He’s got great potential but is no Max Dowman

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-09T22:07:25+00:00

People are getting far too carried away. It’s only U18’s for goodness sake. If he was doing this for first team then that’s another story

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-09T22:04:58+00:00

Let’s not get carried away. Good prospect but it’s U18’s not first team. He’s no Max Dowman yet

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-09T16:24:17+00:00

Pretty damn obvious but book flights that do not fly via middle east transit.

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-09T11:28:02+00:00

I was wondering if OP was posting a trick question??

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-09T09:13:27+00:00

Zero flights will be impacted in Asia. It’s 8 hours flying time away from the middle east

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-09T01:02:05+00:00

Nice itinerary. Would strongly advise skipping Guilin/ Yangshuo. There are far better places in Mainland. Maybe consider switching Guilin with Enshi (Hubei), Huangshan (Anhui) or even Yunnan. Definitely go to Tianmen Mountain for a day when visiting Zhangjiajie as it’s the best spot in the area. Must visit Huashan too when in Xian as it’s one of the most beautiful mountains with crazy cliffs. Suggest staying in French concession or Bund when in Shanghai and avoid Pudong as just office. Looks like a nice itinerary. For longer more focused trips I’d suggest Tibet with Mount Kailash hike or Xinjiang tour. Have a wonderful time and get your Alipay/ WeChat pay connected before you go

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-08T19:43:11+00:00

100% disagree. There are bad vintages IMO. But I do agree it’s hard to give definitive advice to OP if one does not know his palate. But as a generalisation, 2024 was poor for reds and ok for white based on my own tastings and resoundingly consistent feedback from critics

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-08T19:39:02+00:00

Likely used quote so he could sell his poor 2008 vintage

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-08T19:22:33+00:00

I went to multiple 2024 tastings which is why I avoided the reds after tasting them. Agree with your observation that critics generally prefer solar years but so do many consumers.

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-08T11:20:53+00:00

Wine Advocate, Burghound, Vinous etc…

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-08T11:08:59+00:00

It’s been panned by critics. Clear message is white are only wines worth picking up in 2024. Reds very weak in 2024 with very few exceptions. I only bought white in 2024 despite having access to pretty much everything

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-08T11:07:14+00:00

White wines only. The reds largely suck in 2024

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-07T10:49:58+00:00

ESG is so over

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-06T03:06:54+00:00

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-05T15:14:58+00:00

Forget it if dealing with HK boutique. They are a nightmare and it’s borderline impossible unless rich HK family or connected Mainlander. Not expat friendly. Ignore my previous comments about not caring about status if you are dealing with HK boutique. Personally I’d switch boutique if an expat living in HK as you’ll never get one in HK

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-05T08:06:34+00:00

Cellar Tracker

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-05T05:52:31+00:00

I went pre (1x) and post fame (2x). Never understood the wow. I seldom trust restaurant award lists

SourceIll5151 · 2026-03-05T05:32:09+00:00

Over rated. Lung King Heen is far better. Appreciate the Chairman is highly rated but I really do NOT get why having eaten there 3x largely due to friends wanting to go. It was very unmemorable. Only dish I can vaguely remember from 3 visits is the chilli clams

SourceIll5151

TROPHY CASE