Manuele Priolo is THE MAN in Roero. He is an extremely intelligent man who knows Roero like no other. Manuele is as an experienced enologo who has worked with many growers and understands like no other every terroir of Roero. On top of this understanding, Manuele is a true fine wine lover.

The (2000 bottle) cuvee produced from this heroic vineyard 'Anime Nere' sits on a ridge of the Rocche in Monteu Roero - a small, registered heroic vineyard with south-facing slopes of 35 to 50% and terraces taller than people - this site is literally Manuele's back garden. The Rocche is an incredible rock formation; a series of cliffs and valleys carved by the old path of the Tanaro River. The vineyard itself is comprised of Sabbie di Asti (sand) and Argilla Azzurra dello Zancleano (blue marl). With its steep pitch and literal cliffs on the sides of the vineyard, Vigneto Eroico is one of the most extreme sites in the region. Growers once prized difficult land like this, then turned to easier, inferior sites for ease of production. The appreciation is coming back as more sites such as this are reclaimed each year.

Manuele planted the broader vineyard in 1990 via massale selection from a sub-plot with vines from the early 1950s. The Nebbiolo clone from that older plot is unique to Vigneto Eroico and is not known to exist anywhere else: it's unusually well-adapted to drought, requires a longer growing season, and yields wine with low alcohol.

It's currently being studied by a famous ampelographer, Anna Schneider, for classification as a new clone of Nebbiolo. It’s also believed to be indigenous to Roero, an adaptation that fits the region - Roero is more arid than Barolo or Barbaresco, and a drought-resistant Nebbiolo clone would have emerged where one was needed. The clone's properties matter more every year as the climate shifts, and once it's properly classified and named, Manuele plans to offer cuttings to any vigneron in the region.