One of the most exciting stops last week during my time in New York with my client Michele Marsiaj, owner of the Amistà winery in Nizza, was at LaLou in Brooklyn, Joe Campanale and Dave Foss’s French-leaning wine bar.

Those are the anchovies we ordered as an appetizer — minus one. One of the fishes is missing because when you sit down to eat with a bunch of Piedmontese and olive oil-cured anchovies show up, it’s like it vying for latkes with your two brothers at Hanukkah. I was lucky to photograph the last four. And they were excellent.

Crusty bread from the über-hip She Wolf bakery in Brooklyn really took that dish over the top.

Those are the wonderfully ethereal “Parsian” gnocchi, which were hard not to inhale. Another over-the-top winner dish that we all thoroughly enjoyed.

But the real show stopper at last Wednesday night’s dinner was a 21-year-old Merlot. Or should I say a Merlot-heavy blend with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet.

When you see a wine that old on a wine list at a hip Brooklyn spot, you know that there was someone who believed in and loved it enough to put it out there (they also had the 2000) despite its age and possible fitness issues.

The price was more than reasonable and so we ordered it. And man, this wine, from Edi Simčič in Slovenia, delivered freshness, slightly ripe red fruit, very light but perceptible tannin, and awesome drinkability and food-friendliness.

We were floored by how good it was.

We spend so much time paying attention to elegant classic whites and macerated whites from Friuli and Slovenia that we often forget that this transnational region for wine production is arguably the home to the best Merlot in this part of the world.

I’ll never forget drinking 1997 Merlot from Radikon with a group of sommeliers back in 2010 during a trip to Gorizia commune. You’d think that the film Sideways had never even been made! It was that good.

The Duet by Simčič isn’t even the estate’s top red wine. It’s part of their “essential line,” in other words, their entry tier. But man, this wine had it all going on. I can’t wait to get back in May to order the 2000.

I highly recommend the restaurant, the wine list, and, of course, the Merlot!

Joe and Dave, great place, great people, great vibes, and great times. We really enjoyed it.

“The problem [at The Ten Bells] is not the list,” wrote one natural wine advocate on my Facebook yesterday. While my bartender was not very helpful when I visited this week, I did drink this groovy, crunchy, organic, and undisgorged Prosecco. I liked it a lot.

Over on my Facebook, a lot of people commented on my post about a disappointing experience that I had this week at The Ten Bells.

Most agreed that The Ten Bells isn’t what it used to be. And many natural wine advocates encouraged me to revisit it. One guy told me to kill myself (for real; I blocked him).

In the wake of all the comments and the many wine professionals who bemoaned the service but praised the list there, I wanted to share a story from my own experiences there over the years.

The Ten Bells opened the last year I lived in New York, 2007. And I immediately became a fan. And even after I left New York (after living there for ten years), The Ten Bells became my number-one go-to when visiting. I loved the place. I loved the ex-owner Fifi. I loved the anti-Beaujolais nouveau festival. I loved the pâté (which was superb with the Beaujolais). I went there for business, I went there for pleasure.

One time when I visited, I sat down at the bar and asked the bartender if he had any Maule Garganega, which I had drunk there before.

He said that no, he didn’t have any at the moment.

“I’m so bummed!” I told him. “I was so looking forward to pairing some oysters with that wine. I love it so much.”

He looked me in the eye.

“Anyone who loves Maule and oysters so much needs to have some,” he said smiling broadly.

“I actually have one bottle of Maule. Let me get it for you.”

And he didn’t charge me for the oysters or the wine.

Not long after that, back in California (where I was trying to figure out what the next chapter of my life would be; this was before I met Tracie P), a good friend and natural wine lover asked me for New York City recommendations.

I told him to go to The Ten Bells and order Maule and oysters.

When he returned to California, he told me that not only had he sat down at the bar and ordered Maule and oysters, but the bartender had refused to charge him.

My friend recounted that “the guy at the bar said, ‘Anyone who loves Maule and oysters so much needs to have some. It’s on me.'”

It’s unbelievable. But it’s 100 percent true. I swear.

I don’t know that bartender’s name but I can see him in my mind’s eye.

And I will revisit The Ten Bells when I come back to the city this fall.

In other news…

Those are cherrystone clams with black beans at Fuleen Seafood in Chinatown, where I had dinner with some of my best friends in the wine trade last night.

What a great dinner! That’s the duck below.

As much as I loved the pasta at I Trulli and the burger at the bar at Keens Steakhouse, last night’s was the best meal of the trip.

Now it’s time to get my butt back to Texas where there are three ladies that I need to squeeze tightly, tightly, tightly…

Posting in a hurry this morning as I head out from the Upper West Side to yet another meeting and another tasting.

But wanted to share this glass of Our Wine 2010 Rkatsiteli (Georgia) that I had as an aperitif yesterday early evening at one of my favorite wine bars in the city, Anfora (conceived by one of the coolest dudes in our business, Joe Campanale).

There’s probably no better place to drink amphora-vinified wines than Joe’s place.

Although intense (and maybe not for everyone), the wine was delicious and its oxidative note made it reminiscent of a Sherry, a perfect aperitif.

So much to tell and so many wines to share…

Just in case you were concerned that I had lost my way among the rich folk back in the big New York City, I’m happy to report that I found my way from James Suckling’s Wednesday night tasting in midtown to Alice’s place downtown where I recharged my sanity drinking some crunchy wine from Vinos Ambiz in Spain.

The folks there are an “organic vineyard, winery and natural wine company. We practice sustainable viticulture, and make natural, authentic, good quality wines that express the terroir. We improve the fertility of the soil, don’t use chemicals or additives and we recycle our bottles.”

The Suckling tasting was impressive but the carbonic maceration Airén, unfiltered, unclarified, and with no added sulfites by Vinos Ambiz — let’s just say — was a little more my speed.

And just to remind myself what I love about the borough of Man-atan, I met Brooklyn Guy the next day for lunch at the Blaue Gans in Tribeca where I thoroughly enjoyed the pickled herring salad.

The service there may not be what it once was at this Teutonic casual, but the food is always great, the wine list tidy and solid, the beers appropriately bitter, and I love the Zabriskie Point poster in the toilet (worth a visit to the head by any means).

My short visit to New York is about to come to an end but not before I go taste a buttload of old Nebbiolo (you are not going to believe the sick flight of wines that await me at lunch). Stay tuned…