Publication of a communication of approval of a standard amendment to a product specification for a name in the wine sector referred to in Article 17(2) and (3) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33

(2019/C 248/05)

This notice is published in accordance with Article 17(5) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 (1).

COMMUNICATION OF APPROVAL OF A STANDARD AMENDMENT

‘Bourgueil’

Reference number: PDO-FR-A0729-AM01

Date of communication: 10.5.2019

DESCRIPTION OF AND REASONS FOR THE APPROVED AMENDMENT

1. Geographical area

Description and reasons

The paragraph on the geographical area has been replaced as follows:

‘The grapes are harvested and the wines made and developed in the geographical area approved by the National Institute of Origin and Quality at the meeting of the competent national committee on 16 December 2010. The perimeter of this area, on the date of approval of this specification by the competent national committee, comprises the territory of the following municipalities of the department of Indre-et-Loire, as based on the 2018 Official Geographic Code: Benais, Bourgueil, La Chapelle-sur-Loire, Chouzé-sur-Loire, Coteaux de Loire for the territory of the delegated municipalities of Saint-Patrice et Ingrandes de Touraine, Restigné, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil.’

The amendment takes into account the merging of municipalities, although the perimeter of the geographical area has not been changed.

Point 6 of the Single Document has been amended accordingly.

2. Pruning rule

Description and reasons

Under point (b) of section VI, the vines are now pruned with a maximum of 12 buds.

The single Guyot method allows for a cane with 8 buds.

This amendment should make it possible to be better prepared for climate hazards in the spring, which have become increasingly frequent in recent years.

Point 5.1 of the Single Document has been amended accordingly.

3. Maximum density of each parcel

Description and reasons

The maximum density of each parcel has gone from 9 500 kg/ha to 8 500 kg/ha. Given the greater number of buds, the protection and management body does not want to increase the yield at the expense of quality and has therefore decided to reduce the maximum density of each parcel.

The Single Document is not affected by this amendment.

4. Vegetation cover for headlands

Description and reasons

Under point 2(a) the words: ‘beyond 1,50 metres from the last plant’ has been replaced by ‘at least 1 metre from the anchorage for the trellising of the vine, and this distance may be increased to 2,50 metres if the soil is maintained mechanically;’

This amendment aims at taking into account changes in cultivation practices and in the maintenance of vegetation by mechanical means.

The Single Document is not affected by this amendment.

5. Target yield

Description and reasons

The target yield has gone from 67 hl/ha to 65 hl/ha. Given the greater number of buds, the protection and management body does not want to increase the yield at the expense of quality and has therefore decided to reduce the target yield.

Point 5.2 of the Single Document has been amended accordingly.

6. Fermenting room capacity

Description and reasons

The minimum fermenting room capacity required has been reduced in order not to penalise young winegrowers setting up in the area, without, however, exempting them from the requirements necessary for the proper vinification and storage of the wine.

The Single Document is not affected by this amendment.

7. Circulation between authorised warehouses

Description and reasons

Point 4(b) of section IX of Chapter 1 concerning the date of entry into circulation of the wines between authorised warehouses has been deleted.

The Single Document is not affected by this amendment.

8. Declaration of the assignment of parcels

Description and reasons

Point 1 of section I of Chapter 2 has been deleted because it refers to a procedure that is unnecessary considering the situation in Bourgueil. The following are entitled to a controlled designations of origin (AOC) in the area of production of AOC Bourgueil: St Nicolas de Bourgueil, Touraine, Crémant de Loire and Rosé de Loire. All the parcels of AOC Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil are inspected according to the requirements for vines for that controlled designation of origin. Parcels intended for the production of AOC Crémant de Loire or AOC Rosé de Loire must be identified in the production records kept by the producers, and parcels intended for the production of AOC Touraine are designated by the operator as from January when assigning parcels.

The Single Document is not affected by this amendment.

9. Main points for checking

Description and reasons

Chapter 3 has been revised to ensure consistent drafting of the main points for checking.

The Single Document is not affected by this amendment.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

1. Name of product

Bourgueil

2. Geographical indication type

PDO — Protected Designation of Origin

3. Categories of grapevine products

1. Wine

4. Description of the wine(s)

The wines are still and red or rosé. They have a minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of 10,5 %. After packaging, they meet the following analytical standards:

— the red wines have a fermentable sugar content (glucose and fructose) not exceeding 2 grams per litre;

— the rosé wines have a fermentable sugar content (glucose + fructose) not exceeding 4 grams per litre and a total acidity expressed as grams of tartaric acid per litre exceeding 3,5 grams per litre. After enrichment, their total alcoholic strength by volume does not exceed 13 %. Malolactic fermentation is completed for the red wines; the malic acid content does not exceed 0,3 grams per litre. The volatile acidity and total sulphur dioxide contents of the red and rosé wines and the total acidity content of the red wines have been laid down in Community legislation. The rosé wines usually have fresh and fairly intense aromas of red and white fruit, occasionally highlighted with citrus notes. The red wines are elegant, with colours ranging from dark ruby to deep garnet. Often there is a tannic structure, but it is faint. Their aromatic character usually combines notes of red and black fruit. Some of the more opulent wines benefit from being aged for a few years. They may then reveal more complex cocoa-like, slightly smoked or spicy notes.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum total acidity Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre) Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)

5. Wine-making practices

a. Essential oenological practices

Cultivation method

Training system:

(a) Planting density The minimum planting density of the vines is 4 500 plants per hectare, with spacing between the rows not exceeding 2,10 metres. The spacing between plants in the same row must be at least 0,80 metres and may not exceed 1,10 metres.

(b) Pruning rules The vines are pruned before 1 May, with a maximum of 12 buds per vine, using the following techniques: — the single Guyot method, with a cane having a maximum of 8 buds and a maximum of 2 shoots with 1 or 2 buds; — two half canes having a maximum of 4 buds each and a maximum of 2 shoots with 1 or 2 buds; — short pruning (the Royat cordon method), with a maximum of 6 shoots with a maximum of 2 buds.

Specific oenological practice

The use of oenological charcoal to make the rosé wines is forbidden, whether alone or mixed in preparations. Reductive methods of enrichment are permitted for the red wines, with the maximum partial concentration rate set at 10 % in relation to the volumes used. After enrichment, the wines’ total alcoholic strength by volume does not exceed 13 %. In addition to the above provisions, the oenological practices concerning these wines must meet the requirements laid down at Community level and in the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code.

b. Maximum yields

65 hectolitres per hectare

6. Demarcated geographical area

The grapes are harvested and the wines made and developed in the geographical area approved by the National Institute of Origin and Quality at the meeting of the competent national committee on 16 December 2010. The perimeter of this area, on the date of approval of this specification by the competent national committee, comprises the territory of the following municipalities of the department of Indre-et-Loire, as based on the 2018 Official Geographic Code:

Benais, Bourgueil, La Chapelle-sur-Loire, Chouzé-sur-Loire, Coteaux de Loire for the territory of the delegated municipalities of Saint-Patrice et Ingrandes de Touraine, Restigné, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil.

7. Main wine grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon N

Cabernet Franc N

8. Description of the link(s)

The vineyards of the controlled designation of origin ‘Bourgueil’ are located north of the Loire, upstream of the confluence with the Vienne, on the north-western tip of the ‘Touraine’ wine-producing region.

The geographical area is bordered by the forest of Gâtine in the north and the Loire in the south. It rests partially on a vast, mainly south-facing slope topped off by forest and partially on terraces and hillocks, locally called ‘montilles’.

The soils low down on the slope are brown limestone soils that developed on micaceous Turonian chalk or yellow tuffeau chalk, while mid-slope there are silicate-clay soils originating from sandy-clay Senonian formations. At the foot of the slope, the soils developed on terraces made of ancient alluvial deposits and on the ‘montilles’ — small hillocks formed by recent alluvial deposits in the main riverbed — are permeable and sandy-gravelly.

The geographical area covers 8 municipalities of the department of Indre-et-Loire. It has a milder and drier climate than most of the Touraine region. The wooded plateau above the winegrowing slope provides protection against cold winds from the north.

Description of the human factors relevant to the geographical link

The Bourgueil wine-producing area traces its origins back to the founding of the Bourgueil abbey in 990. In 1189, Abbé Baudry praised the charm of his monastery and wine. The vineyards extend beyond the walls of the abbey and spreads over the slopes and ancient terraces of the Loire.

Locally known as ‘breton’, Cabernet Franc N is the main grape variety of the vine variety. It was brought to the area by inland waterways, and the political union of Anjou and Aquitaine in 11th and 12th centuries served to strengthen its establishment in the region.

Located along the Loire, the vineyards of the Bourgueil region have long been an exporter of fine wines, in particular to the Flemish countries starting in the 17th century.

The vineyards, planted on terraces formed by ancient alluvial deposits, resisted phylloxera for a certain period of time, as the disease spreads more slowly in the sand. The rapid reconstitution of the vineyards into grafted vines with Cabernet Franc N as the sole variety testifies to the winegrowers’ commitment to this variety adopted in the Middle Ages.

Production volumes have been rising since 1937, when the controlled designation of origin ‘Bourgueil’ was recognised. While market gardening and the production of seeds or liquorice were an important part of Bourgeuil’s agricultural activities at the beginning of the 20th century, nowadays the region is mostly dedicated to wine-growing.

Red wines account for most of the production, or nearly 95 % of the volumes. The rosé wines usually have fresh and fairly intense aromas of small red and white fruit, occasionally highlighted with citrus or peppery notes.

The red wines are elegant, with colours that can range from dark ruby to deep garnet. They usually have a tannic structure but it is diluted. The aromatic character usually combines notes of red and black fruit.

After being aged for a few years, some wines may reveal more complex, cocoa-like, slightly smoked or spicy notes. In line with local customs, the demarcated parcel area for the grape harvest only includes parcels with brown soils or shallow soils on the Turonian chalk of the slope and parcels on the sandy-clayey or sandy-gravelly soils of terraces and ‘montilles’. These soils display good hydrological and thermal behaviour. The open landscape makes it possible to draw the greatest benefit from the favourable climatic conditions.

Thanks to this overall situation, Cabernet Franc N benefits from conditions allowing an original and elegant expression of the variety, though optimal management is essential. It has therefore been necessary to prohibit certain clones and impose specific training requirements and short pruning. The sandy-clayey and sandy-gravelly soils create the conditions necessary for a fruity aromatic expression with delicate and supple tannins. It is the reason for the success of the young wines. The range of wine-growing conditions in the Turonian soils favour, in particular, the production of opulent red wines with a good tannic structure.

The know-how of the winemakers acquired through the experience of several generations and their loyalty towards the Cabernet Franc N grape variety spanning more than eight centuries are reflected in the blending of wines made in different conditions.

This know-how adapted to the specific conditions of the territory, which is used first and foremost for the production of red wine, has naturally been applied also to rosé wines.

The Loire, which runs at the foot of the wine-producing area, is closely linked to the origin and history of the Bourgeuil vineyard. The river has eroded the vast slope. It has also left alluvial deposits, which compose most of the substratum on which the vineyard grows.

As a way of exchange and communication, the Loire has played a central and very active commercial role.

The renown and reputation of ‘Bourgueil’ wines, whose subtle and fruity fragrance is mentioned as early as the 11th century in the archives of the Benedictine abbey, continue to flourish owing to the dynamism of its producers and promoters who come together in various associations.

9. Essential further conditions (packaging, labelling, other requirements)

API

Legal framework:

EU legislation

Type of further condition:

Derogation concerning production in the demarcated geographical area

Description of the condition:

The area in immediate proximity, defined by derogation for the making and development of the wines, comprises the territory of the following municipalities:

— Department of Indre-et-Loire: Avoine, Azay-le-Rideau, Beaumont-en-Véron, Candes-Saint-Martin, Cheillé, Chinon, Cinais, Gizeux, Huismes, Lerné, Lignières-de-Touraine, Marcay, Rigny-Ussé, Rivarennes, Rivière, La Roche-Clermault, Saché, Saint-Benoît-la-Forêt, Saint-Germain-sur-Vienne, Savigny-en-Véron, Seuilly, Thizay, Vallères.

— Department of Maine-et-Loire: Allonnes, Brain-sur-Allonnes, Varennes-sur-Loire, Villebernier.

Labelling

Legal framework:

National legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

(a) All the voluntary indications are marked on the labels in letters that may not be larger, either in height or width, than double the size of the letters forming the name of the controlled designation of origin.

(b) The size of the letters of the geographical name ‘Val de Loire’ may not be larger, either in height or width, than two-thirds of the size of the letters forming the name of the controlled designation of origin.

(c) Wines with the controlled designation of origin may specify a smaller geographical unit on their labels, provided that: — it is a registered location; — it appears on the harvest declaration.

Link to the product specification

https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/gedei/site/bo-agri/document_administratif-63d161e5-0b1b-4c56-a46c-721dcb37060b

(1) OJ L 9, 11.1.2019, p. 2.