Why it matters
The producer
Giusto alle Balze is the flagship Toscana IGT red from Podere Marcampo, made entirely from Merlot. The named range also includes Terrablu, Genuino, Marcampo and Severus. Across the vineyard, the estate grows Vermentino, Sangiovese, Merlot, Pugnitello and Ciliegiolo. Genuino and Claudia work the vineyard entirely by hand. The agricultural business is registered as Azienda Agricola Marcampo di Claudia del Duca. Its cellar separates the wines through steel, Slavonian oak and French oak tonneaux. Genuino stays in steel, while Severus and Giusto alle Balze bring oak into the ageing sequence before returning to steel.
Genuino Del Duca moved from Abruzzo to Tuscany in 1971 after twenty years as a carabiniere, leaving the army with his wife Ivana to pursue food and wine. The family built that life through restaurants, first in Saline di Volterra in 1991 and later in Volterra's historic centre in 2001. The second restaurant operated until 2022. At Marcampo, the family now works vines by hand and makes Toscana IGT wines.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Near Volterra, the farm sits in the Natural Park of the Balze and Calanchi. The wines carry the Toscana IGT designation, a regional category that puts Tuscany on the label while individual names and grape compositions distinguish the bottles. Genuino combines Sangiovese and Merlot, Severus is a still red from Sangiovese, and Giusto alle Balze is a still red made entirely from Merlot. One regional category holds a mixed red and single grape reds within the same estate range.
Clay rich in salts and minerals lies beneath the vines, and the estate connects this ground to the area's ancient marine presence. Clay can hold water through dry periods, changing how much moisture remains available to the vines. At Marcampo, the red range keeps Sangiovese and Merlot on separate paths through steel, Slavonian oak and French oak tonneaux.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The vineyard grows Vermentino, Sangiovese, Merlot, Pugnitello and Ciliegiolo, and all operations are manual. Genuino ferments in steel with frequent pump overs, then ages in steel. Keeping fermenting must over the skins brings colour and tannin into the red before ageing without oak. Severus ferments and macerates in temperature controlled stainless steel, then moves through a Slavonian oak barrel before returning to steel. The skin contact builds colour and tannin; the wood adds seasoning and oxygen contact, and the later steel stage stops further oak contact. Giusto alle Balze ferments and macerates in temperature controlled stainless steel, then moves through French oak tonneaux before a final period in stainless steel. Genuino stays on a steel path, while Severus and Giusto alle Balze combine wood ageing with later steel.
Wines to know
The range in view
The IGT range contains Terrablu, Genuino, Marcampo, Severus and Giusto alle Balze. Genuino combines Sangiovese and Merlot in a Toscana IGT red. Severus is a Toscana IGT still red from Sangiovese. Giusto alle Balze is a Toscana IGT still red made entirely from Merlot. Terrablu and Marcampo complete the named set. The red wines divide by grape composition, with Genuino combining Sangiovese and Merlot and Severus staying with Sangiovese, while Giusto alle Balze is the all Merlot bottle in the range.
Giusto alle Balze's older vintages move between fresh herbal aromatics, dark fruit and oak, while acidity and tannin remain visible. The 2010 vintage showed aromatic herbs, wild flowers, small fleshy red fruit, pine resin, mint, spice and pepper. Its palate had marked acidity, substantial tannins and persistence. The 2008 vintage shifted toward cooked black fruit, oak, cocoa, dried tobacco and roasted notes, with dense tannins and a return of quinine on the finish. Across the two vintages, the Merlot carries fresh herbal notes alongside darker flavours from oak and roasting, with acidity present alongside the tannins.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Choose Giusto alle Balze. It is the estate's flagship Toscana IGT red, made entirely from Merlot. Fermentation and maceration last around 25 days in temperature controlled stainless steel, followed by 12 months in French oak tonneaux and six months in stainless steel. The 2017 vintage showed black fruit, undergrowth, cut hay, resin and chocolate, with a soft, enveloping palate, firm youthful tannins and a savoury finish still in evolution.