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

(2020/C 435/05)

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

COMMUNICATION OF STANDARD AMENDMENT MODIFYING THE SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘RIBEIRA SACRA’

PDO-ES-A1128-AM03

Date of communication: 15.9.2020

DESCRIPTION OF AND REASONS FOR THE APPROVED AMENDMENT

1. Removal of vintage blending restrictions

AMENDMENT:

This amendment consists of deleting the last paragraph of point 3 of the product specification, on specific oenological practices, whereby up to 15 % of a given year’s vintage wine could be made up of wine from the previous vintage, or, in particularly atypical years, the previous two vintages.

Point 3(b) of the product specification and point 5(a) of the Single Document have therefore been amended.

This is deemed to be a standard amendment because it does not fall under any of the circumstances listed in Article 14(1) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 of 17 October 2018 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards applications for protection of designations of origin, geographical indications and traditional terms in the wine sector, the objection procedure, restrictions of use, amendments to product specifications, cancellation of protection, and labelling and presentation.

JUSTIFICATION:

The rule that has been removed was more restrictive than the more general industry legislation: the only condition imposed by Article 49 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 for labelling wines with a vintage is that at least 85 % of the grapes used to make those wines must have been harvested that year. In other words, the remaining 15 % may be from any vintage, without limitations on years.

This amendment is justified because the wines now have properties that mean they are still drinkable several years after being made. At some wineries, once the wines have stabilised, they spend at least a year in the tank before being bottled. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on the wine industry because of export difficulties and restrictions on activity in the hotel and restaurant sector, which accounts for a large proportion of the sales of wines from this designation of origin. In this situation, and with the possibility of further health crises occurring in the future, it makes sense to introduce measures, such as this one, that make it easier to sell the wines.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

1. Name of the product

Ribeira Sacra

2. Geographical indication type

PDO - Protected Designation of Origin

3. Categories of grapevine product

1. Wine

4. Description of the wine(s)

Ribeira Sacra Summum red and Ribeira Sacra red

‘Ribeira Sacra’Súmmum reds:

— Appearance: clear and brilliant; medium to high intensity of colour; cherry-red to purple-red.

— Smell: fruity scents of red berries (forest fruits) or tree fruits (red stone fruits) (at least one of these categories).

— Taste: sound wines; red berries or tree fruits (aromas from at least one of these categories); balanced alcohol, acidity and astringency; long finish.

‘Ribeira Sacra’ reds:

— Appearance: clear and brilliant; medium to high intensity of colour; cherry-red to purple-red.

— Smell: fruity scents of red berries (forest fruits) or tree fruits (red stone fruits) (at least one of these categories).

— Taste: sound wines; red berries or tree fruits (aromas from at least one of these categories); balanced alcohol, acidity and astringency; long finish.

* For all values not given below, the wines must comply with current legislation.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume): Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume): 11 Minimum total acidity: 4,5 in grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre): 11,67 Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre): 120

WHITE WINE: ‘Ribeira Sacra’Súmmum whites

— Appearance: clear and brilliant; from pale to golden yellow.

— Smell: sound wines; tree fruit scents (white pome and stone fruits).

— Taste: sound wines; tree fruit aromas; balanced alcohol and acidity; long finish.

* For all values not given below, the wines must comply with current legislation.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume): Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume): 11 Minimum total acidity: 4,5 in grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre): 11,67 Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre): 160

RED WINE: ‘Ribeira Sacra’Súmmun Barrica reds and ‘Ribeira Sacra’Súmmun Garda reds

As well as meeting the above requirements for each type of wine, to be marketed as Barrica [‘barrel’], wines must also have the following characteristics:

— Smell: spices, wood or oak (aromas from at least one of these categories).

— Taste: spices, wood or oak (aromas from at least one of these categories).

* For all values not given below, the wines must comply with current legislation.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume): Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume): 12 Minimum total acidity: 4,5 in grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre): 16,67 Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre): 140

WHITE WINE: ‘Ribeira Sacra’Barrica whites and ‘Ribeira Sacra’Garda whites

As well as meeting the above requirements for each type of wine, to be marketed as Barrica [‘barrel’], wines must also have the following characteristics:

— Smell: spices, wood or oak (aromas from at least one of these categories).

— Taste: spices, wood or oak (aromas from at least one of these categories).

* For all values not given below, the wines must comply with current legislation.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume): Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume): 12 Minimum total acidity: 4,5 in grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre): 16,67 Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre): 160

ROSÉ WINE: ‘Ribeira Sacra’Súmmum rosés

— Appearance: clear and brilliant; low to medium intensity of colour; pale pink to cherry-red.

— Smell: fruity scents of forest fruits or red stone fruits (at least one of these categories).

— Taste: sound wines; forest fruits or red stone fruits (aromas from at least one of these categories); balanced alcohol and acidity; long finish.

* For all values not given below, the wines must comply with current legislation.

General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume): Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume): 11 Minimum total acidity: 4,5 in grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre): 11,67 Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre): 120

5. Wine-making practices

a. Specific oenological practices

Specific oenological practice

— The extraction rate must not be more than 69 l of wine per 100 kg of grapes, and 40 l of wine per 100 kg of grapes in the case of rosé wines.

— In order to use the term Barrica, wines need to have been aged in wooden barrels, respecting the following requirements with regard to minimum ageing periods and maximum volumes: — Reds: a minimum of six months in barrels with a maximum capacity of 500 l; — Whites: a minimum of three months in barrels with a maximum capacity of 600 l.

— To use the term Garda [referring to wines being ‘kept’ or ‘stored’], wines need to have been aged for at least seven months in the case of reds and four months in the case of whites in vats made of wood, concrete or – with the exception of steel and polyester – other materials authorised under food law, meeting the following volume requirements: — For reds: — wooden vats with a capacity of between 225 l and 10 000 l; — vats made of concrete or other materials with a capacity of up to 5 000 l. — For whites: — wooden vats with a capacity of between 225 l and 8 000 l; — vats made of concrete or other materials with a capacity of up to 5 000 l.

Relevant restriction on making the wines

— The red grape varieties Mencía, Brancellao, Merenzao, Sousón, Caíño Tinto, Caíño Longo and Caíño Bravo and the white grape varieties Godello, Loureira, Treixadura, Dona Branca, Albariño, Torrontés, Branco Lexítimo and Caíño Blanco are considered the preferred or main varieties, and must make up at least 85 % of the composition of Súmmum wines. Red wines that are not marketed as Súmmum must be at least 70 % Mencía.

— The use of continuous presses or high-speed centrifugal crushers is not permitted.

— Thermovinification – the pre-heating of grapes or the heating of must or wine to extract colour from the pomace – is not permitted.

— When making ‘Ribeira Sacra’ rosés, the period of skin contact cannot exceed 48 hours.

— Oak chips cannot be used during winemaking or in subsequent processes.

Cultural practice

— Utmost care must be taken when harvesting the grapes, picking them by hand into crates authorised by the Regulatory Board. Only sound and sufficiently ripe grapes may be used to make the protected wines.

b. Maximum yields

Red grape varieties

9 500 kilograms of grapes per hectare

Red grape varieties

65,55 hectolitres per hectare

White grape varieties

12 000 kilograms of grapes per hectare

White grape varieties

82,80 hectolitres per hectare

6. Demarcated geographical area

The demarcated area is made up of five sub-areas covering parts of the following municipalities:

— Amandi sub-area: Sober and Monforte de Lemos

— Chantada sub-area: Portomarín, Taboada, Chantada, Carballedo and A Peroxa.

— Quiroga-Bibei sub-area: Monforte de Lemos, A Pobra de Brollón, Quiroga, Ribas de Sil, a Pobra de Trives, Manzaneda and San Xoán de Río.

— Ribeiras do Miño sub-area: Paradela, O Saviñao, Pantón, Sober and Monforte de Lemos.

— Ribeiras do Sil sub-area: A Teixeira, Parada do Sil, Castro Caldelas and Nogueira de Ramuín.

These municipalities are spread across the provinces of Lugo and Ourense in the Autonomous Community of Galicia.

7. Main wine grape variety(ies)

ALBARIN BLANCO - BRANCO LEXITIMO

ALBARIÑO

BRANCELLAO

CAÍÑO BLANCO

CAÍÑO BRAVO

CAÍÑO LONGO

CAÍÑO TINTO

DOÑA BLANCA - DONA BRANCA

GODELLO

LOUREIRA - LOUREIRO BLANCO

MENCÍA

MERENZAO

SOUSÓN

TORRONTÉS

TREIXADURA

8. Description of the link(s)

The main hallmark of these wines is the vine-growing practice known as viticultura heroica [heroic viticulture], in which vines are grown on steep terraced hillsides which form an impressive anthropogenic landscape. This landscape formation means there are numerous microclimates. Therefore, the choice of altitude and the orientation of the vines is a crucial factor in ensuring that the grapes ripen properly. Furthermore, the grapes used are primarily varieties that are native to the area. They have been selected by winegrowers over the centuries and have adapted to the local climate and soil. The area produces mainly red wines, with Mencía being the most prominent variety. The wines are fruity, with a cherry-red colour and balanced acidity.

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

Legal framework:

In national legislation

Type of further condition:

Derogation on the production in the demarcated geographical area

Description of the condition:

The production area is comprised mainly of steep hillsides, making it difficult to build wineries. The wines can therefore be made in wineries built on land located in some parishes found adjacent to the production area, in the following sub-areas and municipalities:

Amandi: Sober.

Chantada: Carballedo, A Peroxa, Portomarín, Taboada and Chantada.

Ribeiras do Miño: Pantón and O Saviñao.

Ribeiras do Sil: A Teixeira and Castro Caldelas.

Legal framework:

In national legislation

Type of further condition:

Packaging within the demarcated geographical area

Description of the condition:

The wines must be bottled at source. Transporting and bottling the wine outside the winemaking area can jeopardise quality, as the wine can be exposed to oxidation-reduction, variations in temperature and other influences. The further the wine travels, the greater the risk. Bottling in the area of origin allows the product’s characteristics and quality to be preserved.

Legal framework:

In national legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

The characters used to display the name of the designation of origin must be at least 4 mm tall. The name of the sub-area and variety are to be indicated using characters no more than half the height of those used for the PDO name.

The use of the trademark is compulsory. If the wines are labelled with trademarks that are also used for other designation of origins, the name ‘Ribeira Sacra’ must be in the same field of vision as the trademark and at least three times bigger than it. The name ‘Ribeira Sacra’ must also appear on the same background and in the same lettering style as that trademark.

A numbered secondary label, including the logo of the designation of origin, must be affixed to all bottles.

Link to the product specification

https://mediorural.xunta.gal/sites/default/files/produtos/en-tramitacion/PLIEGO_DE_CONDICIONES_DO_RIBEIRA_SACRA_julio_2020_final.pdf

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