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

(2022/C 278/08)

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

COMMUNICATION OF A STANDARD AMENDMENT MODIFYING THE SINGLE DOCUMENT

‘Fiefs Vendéens’

PDO-FR-A0733-AM02

Date of application: 12 May 2022

1. Description of and reasons for the amendment

1. Official Geographic Code

Description and reasons

The municipalities of the geographical area have been updated in accordance with the official geographic code.

The boundaries of the area remain unchanged.

Point 6 of the single document has been amended.

2. Demarcated parcel area

Description and reasons

The session of 9 and 10 February 2022 has been added to the list of sessions of the relevant national committee which approved the demarcated parcel areas.

The purpose of this amendment is to add the date on which the relevant national authority approved changes to the demarcated parcel area within the geographical area of production. Parcels are demarcated by identifying the parcels within the geographical area of production that are suitable for producing the product covered by the protected designation of origin.

The single document is not affected by these amendments.

3. Transitional measures

Description and reasons

The transitional measures that have expired have been removed.

The transitional measure regarding the keeping of parcel registers has been discontinued.

This amendment does not change the single document

4. Reference to the inspection body

Description and reasons

The reference to the inspection body has been reworded to align it with the wording of other product specifications. This is a purely editorial amendment.

This amendment does not require any changes to the single document.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

1. Name of the product

Fiefs Vendéens

2. Geographical indication type

PDO - Protected Designation of Origin

3. Categories of grapevine product

1. Wine

4. Description of the wine(s)

1. White and rosé wines

BRIEF WRITTEN DESCRIPTION

The wines are still, and are white, rosé and red.

The wines have the following analytical characteristics:

— Minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume: white wines 10 %, rosé wines 10,5 %, red wines 10,5 %

— Total maximum alcoholic strength by volume after enrichment: white wines 12 %, rosé wines 12 %, red wines 12,5 %

— Maximum volatile acid content: white wines 11 milliequivalents per litre, rosé wines 11 milliequivalents per litre, red wines 13 milliequivalents per litre

— Maximum fermentable sugar content (glucose and fructose): white wines 3 grams per litre, rosé wines 3 grams per litre, red wines 2,5 grams per litre

— Maximum malic acid content: not exceeding 0,4 grams per litre for red wines.

The total acidity content, the total sulphur dioxide content and the total actual alcoholic strength follow the rules laid down in EU legislation. The white wines offer a balance dominated by freshness. Elegant and subtle, in general they offer good mineral quality with a broad range of floral and fruity notes.

The colour of the rosé wines includes tints ranging from pale pink to salmon pink. Lightly acidic with prominent freshness and unctuousness, they usually have fruity aromas.

The red wines are distinguished by their powerful fruity aromas, sometimes accompanied by notes of mild spices, leather and liquorice.

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) 14,3 Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)

2. Red wines

BRIEF WRITTEN DESCRIPTION

The wines have the following analytical characteristics:

— Minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume: 11 %

— Maximum fermentable sugar content (glucose and fructose): 2,5 grams per litre

— Maximum malic acid content: not exceeding 0,4 grams per litre for red wines.

The total acidity content, the total sulphur dioxide content and the total actual alcoholic strength follow the rules laid down in EU legislation.

The red wines are distinguished by their powerful fruity aromas, sometimes accompanied by notes of mild spices, leather and liquorice.

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) 16,3 Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre)

5. Wine-making practices

1. Specific oenological practices

a. Specific oenological practice

The use of oenological charcoal to make the rosé wines is prohibited, whether alone or mixed in preparations.

Subtractive enrichment techniques 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 must not exceed the following: white wines 12 %, rosé wines 12 %, red wines 12,5 %.

In addition to the above provisions, the oenological practices concerning these wines meet the requirements laid down at Community level and in the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code.

b. Cultivation method

The minimum planting density of the vines is 5 000 plants per hectare.

The distance between the rows is 1,80 metres or less, and the spacing between plants in the same row is between 0,90 and 1,30 metres.

The vines are pruned with a maximum of ten buds per plant:

— either simple or double Guyot,

— or spur pruning with a maximum of 5 spurs per plant.

Pruning is done before 31 May of the year of harvest.

c. Charcoal

Wine-making restriction

For making rosé wines, use of oenological charcoal is permitted for the musts and new wines still in fermentation within a limit of 15 % of the volume of rosé wines made by a given wine-grower for a specific harvest, at a maximum amount of 60 grams per hectolitre.

2. Maximum yields

a. White and rosé wines

66 hectolitres per hectare

b. Red wines

62 hectolitres per hectare

6. Demarcated geographical area

The grapes are harvested and the wines made and developed within the municipalities of the department of the Vendée listed below, as approved by the National Institute of Origin and Quality at the meeting of the competent national committee on 10 February 2011. The perimeter of this area, on the date of approval of this specification by the relevant national committee, comprises the following municipalities or parts of municipalities, based on the 2021 Official Geographic Code:

Auchay-sur-Vendée (only the territory of the delegated municipality of Auzay), Brem-sur-Mer, Bretignolles-sur-Mer, Le Champ-Saint-Père, Chantonnay, Château-Guibert, La Couture, L’Ïle-d’Olonne, Longèves, Mareuil-sur-Lay-Dissais, Les Sables d’Olonne (only the territory of the delegated municipality of Olonne-sur-Mer), Pissotte, Le Poiré-sur-Velluire, Rives de l’Yon, Rosnay, Le Tablier, Vairé, Vix.

7. Wine grape variety(-ies)

Cabernet Franc N

Chardonnay B

Chenin B

Négrette N

Pinot Noir N

8. Description of the link(s)

The geographical area is situated between the bocage of the Vendée, to the north, and the cereal-growing plain of Luçon to the south. The border of the Massif Armoricain extends from west to east, from Sables-d’Olonne on the Atlantic coast as far as Fontenay-le-Comte. Vineyards are planted in the areas where this border is intersected by the hydrographic network, often on slopes between 3 % and 5 % and mainly facing south/south-west. The various geographical entities are distributed as follows: ‘Brem’ around the Olonne marsh; ‘Mareuil’ and ‘Chantonnay’ along the valleys of the Lay and the Yon; and ‘Vix’ and ‘Pissotte’ on the hillsides of the Vendée river. This geographical area is formed of lands from 18 municipalities in the south of the Vendée department.

In geological terms, the geographical area is relatively homogeneous, set on the edge of the crystalline basement of the Massif Armoricain, adjoining Jurassic limestone formations. The geological substratum is mainly formed of shale and rhyolite, occasionally gneiss and amphibolite, and even limestone in the case of the geographical designation ‘Vix’. However, such limestone is usually covered by fluvial deposits of sand and gravel from the Tertiary era. Consequently, parcels specifically demarcated for harvesting grapes generally have brown acidic soils containing a high proportion of coarse fragments. They are fundamentally different from the deep loamy soils of the bocage, to the north, and the fertile clay soils of the plain further south. The climate in the south of the Vendée is maritime and temperate, and significantly hotter than that of the bocage located further north. Above all, the climate in the south has less rainfall and more sunshine, with a shortage of rainfall in the summer. The regions of Olonne and La Rochelle have the most sunshine of the Atlantic coast, with an average of 1 430 hours of sun per six months from June to September. Annual average temperatures range between 12 °C and 12,5 °C, with temperature ranges increasing from west to east as altitude increases and the maritime influence declines.

Description of the human factors relevant to the geographical link

Numerous documents refer to tithes on the products of the vines paid to abbeys and priories in the region and thus attest to the development of viticulture in the Vendée in the Middle Ages. In the eleventh century, a lively trade started with Holland in wines of the geographical designation ‘Brem’. Between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, wines of the geographical designation ‘Mareuil’ were taken by barge to the ports of Saint-Benoist and Moricq-sur-le-Lay. They were then transferred to La Rochelle, where they were loaded and shipped to England.

It was not until the writings of Rabelais, who lived in Fontenay-le-Comte and Maillezais between 1520 and 1528, that the varieties used became known again. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the most widely grown white variety was already Chenin B (‘Franc Blanc’ in ‘Brem’, ‘Blanc d’Aunis’ in ‘Vix’). The varieties for rosé and red wines were dominated by Pinot Noir N and especially Négrette N. The latter was known as ‘Pinot Rosé’ or ‘Bourgogne’ in ‘Brem’; as ‘Ragoûtant’ in ‘Mareuil’ and ‘Chantonnay’; and as ‘Folle Noire’ in ‘Vix’. The introduction of the variety Cabernet Franc N dates from the eighteenth century.

Viticulture in the Vendée underwent significant expansion in the nineteenth century, covering 18 000 hectares by 1880. Following the phylloxera attack, producers in the south of the Vendée specialised and rehabilitated the vineyards on slopes with the best exposure using grafts of traditional varieties. These were supplemented mainly by the varieties Gamay N, Chardonnay B and Cabernet Sauvignon N. Depending on the sector, the varieties Sauvignon B and Grolleau Gris G were added in ‘Vix’ and ‘Brem’ respectively.

After the Second World War, the producers wanted to unite the five historic centres of production. The label ‘Anciens Fiefs du Cardinal’ was created in 1953. The reference is to Richelieu, appointed Bishop of Luçon in 1608 and a great promoter of the wines of the geographical designation ‘Mareuil’. The rules for production were organised and defined, enabling an improvement in quality while respecting local distinctions regarding varieties. The ‘Vins des Fiefs Vendéens’ were recognised as a simple designation of origin in 1965; as ‘vins de pays’ in 1974; and as ‘vin délimité de qualité supérieure’ in 1984. The procedure for recognition as a controlled designation of origin was initiated in 1991.

In 2009, the vineyards covered 480 hectares worked by around 40 cultivators, giving an average annual production of 27 000 hectolitres. This breaks down as 45 % rosé wines, 40 % red wines and 15 % white wines. The white wines offer a balance dominated by freshness. Elegant and subtle, in general they offer good mineral quality with a broad range of floral and fruity notes.

The colour of the rosé wines includes tints ranging from pale pink to salmon pink. Lightly acidic with prominent freshness and unctuousness, they usually have fruity aromas.

The red wines are distinguished by their powerful fruity aromas, sometimes accompanied by notes of mild spices, leather and liquorice. In the case of the geographical designations ‘Brem’ and ‘Pissotte’, the wines are often ruby to garnet in colour, and round and elegant. By contrast, the wines of ‘Mareuil’, ‘Chantonnay’ and ‘Vix’ can be more deeply coloured and have more structure in the mouth. The climate in the south of the Vendée, with its abundant sunshine, is characteristically southern. This factor, together with the presence of slopes of stony soil and surfaces that are largely schist and rhyolite in origin, steered viticulture in the geographical area towards a long tradition of producing mainly rosé and red wines. Together these represent on average 85 % of the production of the controlled designation of origin.

The geographical location of the vineyards, between Val de Loire and the south-west, has also influenced the varieties preserved down the generations. The vineyards therefore contain an original set of varieties that blend influences from the Loire (Chenin, Cabernet Franc, Grolleau Gris) with continental influences (Pinot Noir, Gamay) and influences from the south-west (Négrette, Cabernet-Sauvignon). Chenin B is the predominant variety among the white wines. For the rosé wines, the main varieties are Pinot Noir N and Gamay N, while Pinot Noir N, Cabernet Franc N and Négrette N are the varieties forming the basis of the red wines. In all cases, the typical character of the product is guaranteed.

However, the unique history of each geographical designation recalls that different trade routes have been in place for a long time. Wines of the geographical designation ‘Brem’ were transported through the port of Saint-Martin-de-Brem; wines of ‘Mareuil’ and ‘Chantonnay’ through the valley of the Lay river; and those of ‘Vix’ and ‘Pissotte’ through the mouth of the Vendée. Taking into account the variations in natural factors, i.e. soil and climate, over time local producers tended towards different strategies for grape varieties and blending practices. These have resulted in subtle differences in the taste of the wines and contribute to the richness of the wines of this controlled designation of origin. Blending wines from the five geographical entities has therefore never been a practice and there is still no desire for it.

Since 1985, the reputation of the controlled designation of origin ‘Fiefs vendéens’ has developed significantly and the amounts placed on the market have almost doubled. The originality, freshness and fruity aromas of the wines are appreciated by holiday-makers on the coast of the Vendée. The diversity of the wines means that they can always be matched with the regional gastronomy.

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

Labelling

Legal framework:

National legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

The name of the controlled designation of origin is followed by one of the following supplementary geographical designations:

— ‘Brem’

— ‘Chantonnay’

— ‘Mareuil’

— ‘Pissotte’

— ‘Vix’.

This applies to wines that comply with the production conditions laid down in the specification for each of these designations.

The name of the controlled designation of origin may be followed by the supplementary geographical designation ‘Val de Loire’, in accordance with the rules laid down in the specification.

All optional information is printed on the labels in letters that may not be larger, in height, width or thickness, than double the size of the letters forming the name of the controlled designation of origin.

Labelling

Legal framework:

National legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

The size of the letters of the supplementary geographical names ‘Brem’, ‘Chantonnay’, ‘Mareuil’, ‘Pissotte’ and ‘Vix’ may not be larger, either in height, width or thickness, than the letters forming the name of the controlled designation of origin.

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

Any mention of the name of the grape variety is prohibited on the label bearing all of the obligatory information.

The wines can state the vintage if the grapes used to make them were exclusively from that year.

Wines with the controlled designation of origin ‘Fiefs Vendéens’ may specify a smaller geographical entity on their labels, provided that: it is a registered location; it appears on the harvest declaration; the name of the registered location appears immediately under the designation, and is printed in letters no greater than half the size, in both height and width, of the letters forming the name of the controlled designation of origin.

Link to the product specification

https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/gedei/site/bo-agri/document_administratif-ab074c84-057d-4f28-8501-8c98876fe25a

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