Publication of a communication of approval of a standard amendment to the 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 62/09)

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

‘Côtes de Provence’

PDO-FR-A0392-AM03

Date of communication: 22 November 2019

DESCRIPTION OF AND REASONS FOR THE APPROVED AMENDMENT

1. Labelling

The specification for the PDO ‘Côtes de Provence’ has been expanded with the introduction of a new supplementary geographical designation ‘Notre-Dame des Anges’, for the still red and rosé wines.

The following points of the specification are affected by this amendment:

— Chapter I, II - Supplementary geographical designations;

— Chapter I, III - Colour and type of product by supplementary geographical designation;

— Chapter I, IV - Areas and places in which the various operations are conducted;

— Chapter I, IV - Areas and places in which the various operations are conducted - (2) - Demarcated parcel area - (f);

— Chapter I, IV - Areas and places in which the various operations are conducted - (3) - Area in immediate proximity;

— Chapter I, V Vine varieties - (1) - Vine varieties and (2) Rules on proportions;

— Chapter I, VI - Vine training;

— Chapter I, VII - Grape harvest, transport and ripeness: Enrichment with sugar and minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume for the supplementary geographical designation ‘Notre-Dame des Anges’;

— Chapter I, VIII - Yield, first production;

— Chapter I, IX. - Processing, winemaking - Inclusion of rules on blending, winemaking practices and physical treatments, analytical standards, ageing conditions and dates for placing on the market for the supplementary geographical designation ‘Notre-Dame des Anges’;

— Chapter I, X - Link with the geographical area - (3) - Causal interactions;

— Chapter I, XII - Presentation and labelling rules;

— Chapter III - Main points for checking and evaluation methods - Inclusion of the supplementary geographical designation ‘Notre-Dame des Anges’ in checks on the ageing period.

The Single Document has been amended under the heading ‘Further conditions’ labelling, supplementary geographical designations.

2. Production conditions — amendments to the specification not affecting the Single Document

— Chapter I, IV - Areas and places in which the various operations are conducted; (1) geographical area (b)(c)(e) - the following have been deleted: ageing time for rosé wines in the supplementary geographical designations ‘Sainte-Victoire’, ‘Fréjus’ and ‘Pierrefeu’; not applicable to the supplementary geographical designation ‘La Londe’ for which there was no ageing specified for rosé wines.

— Chapter I, IV - Areas and places in which the various operations are conducted. (2) demarcated parcel area - Inclusion of the approval date of the amendment to the demarcated parcel area by the National Committee, on 15 November 2018. The purpose of this amendment is to add the date on which the competent national authority approved a change to the demarcated parcel area within the geographical area of production. Parcel demarcation involves identifying parcels within the geographical area of production that are suitable to be used for the controlled designation of origin.

— Chapter I, V - Vine varieties - (1) Vine varieties - Inclusion of a reference to the controlled designation of origin ‘Côtes de Provence’ in the rule table of vine varieties for the supplementary geographical designations, stating that the vine varieties specific to the supplementary geographical designations correspond to those of the controlled designation of origin ‘Côtes de Provence’.

— Chapter I, V - Vine varieties - (2) Rules on proportions - Amendment to the wording regarding assessing compliance of the vine varieties as regards colour, throughout the parcels of the holding producing the wine of the designation.

— Chapter I, VI - Vine training, (3) Irrigation - Irrigation is permitted. The amendment is a simplification of the wording consistent with the Rural and Maritime Fisheries Code (national regulations).

— Chapter I, VII - Harvest, transport and ripeness of grapes - Inclusion of a reference to the controlled designation of origin ‘Côtes de Provence’ in the table showing sugar content and natural alcoholic strength by volume for the supplementary geographical designations.

— Chapter I, VIII - (1) Yield - Inclusion of the requirement to maintain a variation of 5 hectolitres per hectare between the wine yield of the controlled designation of origin and that of the supplementary geographical designations.

— Chapter I, VIII - (2) - Upper yield limit - Amendment to the upper yield limit for supplementary geographical designations ‘Sainte-Victoire’, ‘Fréjus’, ‘La Londe’, ‘Pierrefeu’ and ‘Notre-Dame des Anges’, increased from 50 to 55 hectolitres per hectare to enable the supplementary geographical designations to increase the annual yield by up to 5 hectolitres per hectare while maintaining the variation of at least 5 hectolitres per hectare between the supplementary geographical designations and the controlled designation of origin itself.

— Chapter I, IX - Processing, winemaking - (1)(a) Blending of varieties - Inclusion of rules on blending for the supplementary geographical designation ‘Notre-Dame des Anges’.

— Chapter I, IX - Processing, winemaking - (1)(b) Analytical standards - inclusion of the reference to the controlled designation of origin ‘Côtes de Provence’ in the table of analytical standards for the supplementary geographical designations.

— Chapter I, IX - Processing, winemaking (2) Provisions by product type - Removal of established minimum ageing periods for rosé wines of the supplementary geographical designations.

— Chapter I, IX - Processing, winemaking (5) Provisions concerning product circulation and placing on the market for the consumer - Amendment to specific dates for the placing rosé wines of the supplementary geographical designations on the market in order to comply with the general dates laid down in the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code. The amendment is the result of removing the ageing periods.

— Chapter I, IX - Processing, winemaking (5) Provisions concerning product circulation and placing on the market for the consumer - Removal of dates for circulation between authorised warehouses.

— Chapter I, X - Link with the geographical area - (3) Causal interactions - Inclusion of the reference to the minimum ageing period for red wines of the supplementary geographical designations.

— Chapter 1. XI - Transitional measures (2) Vine varieties and (4) Storage conditions - Removal of certain transitional measures now obsolete (deadlines expired).

— Chapter II - Declaration requirements - Simplification of methods for making the parcel assignment declaration and the declaration prior to market preparation.

3. Amendments to the wording of the specification not affecting the Single Document

— ‘Supplementary geographical designation’: Throughout the specification, the word ‘supplementary’ has been added to the term ‘geographical designation’ to bring the wording into compliance with the regulatory term.

— Chapter I, IV - Areas and places in which the various operations are conducted - The relevant year of the Official Geographic Code used to identify municipalities, in this case 2018, has been included for each of the geographical areas covered: PDO ‘Côtes de Provence’ and supplementary geographical designations.

— Chapter III, II - References to the control body - Amended address of INAO.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

1. Name of the product

Côtes de Provence

2. Geographical indication type

PDO - Protected Designation of Origin

3. Categories of grapevine product

1. Wine

4. Description of the wine(s)

Still rosé wines

The wines have a minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of 11%.

After fermentation, the wines have a fermentable sugar content (glucose and fructose) not exceeding 4 grams per litre.

The other analytical criteria follow EU rules.

The wines are pale pink in colour. Depending on their origin these highly expressive wines have an aromatic range that can be either fruity, covering white, citrus, exotic and red fruits, or floral blended with mineral or baked notes. The aromas are sustained by a structure that balances roundness and liveliness.

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)

Still red wines

The wines have a minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of 11 %.

At the time of packaging, their maximum malic acid content is 0,4 grams per litre.

After fermentation, the red wines have a fermentable sugar content not exceeding:

— Red wines with natural alcoholic strength by volume not exceeding 14 %: 3 grams per litre;

— Red wines with natural alcoholic strength by volume above 14 %: 4 grams per litre.

The other analytical criteria are in line with EU rules.

The red wines are dark in colour and include two types:

— fruity red wines, produced by short vatting, to be consumed within a short time;

— red wines intended for keeping, with complex aromas of black fruit, cocoa, venison and spices, with powerful, silky tannins as a result of long vatting. 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)

Still white wines

The wines have a minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of 11 %.

The other analytical criteria are in line with EU rules.

After fermentation, the wines have a fermentable sugar content (glucose and fructose) not exceeding 4 grams per litre.

The white wines are dry, yellow in colour with green tints, bright and clear. The aromas are citrus, floral (white flowers), balsamic or honey.

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

Specific oenological practice

For producing the rosé wines, use of oenological charcoal is permitted for musts and young wines still in fermentation following pressing. This is limited to 20 % of the volume of rosé wines produced by an individual winemaker for each harvest. Any heat treatment of the wine harvest where the temperature rises above 40 °C is prohibited.

Spacing between rows

Cultivation method

The area available for each plant must not exceed 2,5 square metres. This surface area is calculated by multiplying the spacing between rows by the spacing between plants. Spacing between rows must not exceed 2,5 metres, and spacing between plants in the same row must be at least 0,8 metres.

Pruning

Cultivation method

At the latest, pruning must take place before phenological stage E, i.e. three leaves unfolded on the first two buds.

Short pruning (gobelet or Royat cordon) with a maximum of six spurs per plant and two buds per spur.

For vines over 25 years old, (26th foliation) a single spur may have a maximum of five buds, with a maximum of 12 buds per plant.

Vine varieties Cabernet-Sauvignon N and Syrah N can be subject to long pruning using the simple Guyot method, with a maximum of eight buds per plant and no more than six on the cane. This provision does not apply to vines intended to produce the following geographical denominations: ‘Sainte-Victoire’, ‘Fréjus’, ‘La Londe’ and ‘Pierrefeu’.

Irrigation

Cultivation method

Irrigation is permitted.

b. Maximum yields

66 hectolitres per hectare

6. Demarcated geographical area

The geographical area covers 84 municipalities. Of these, 68 are in the department of Var; 15 in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône; and one in the department of Alpes-Maritimes.

— In the department of Alpes-Maritimes: Villars-sur-Var;

— In the department of Bouches-du-Rhône: Allauch, Bouc-Bel-Air, Ceyreste, Châteauneuf-le-Rouge, La Ciotat, Cuges-les-Pins, Meyreuil, Mimet, Peynier, Puyloubier, Roquefort-la-Bédoule, Rousset, Simiane-Collongue, Le Tholonet, Trets;

— In the department of Var: Les Arcs, Bagnols-en-Forêt, Le Beausset, Besse-sur-Issole, Bormes-les-Mimosas, Cabasse, La Cadière-d’Azur, Callas, Le Cannet-des-Maures, Carcès, Carnoules, Carqueiranne, Le Castellet, Cavalaire-sur-Mer, Cogolin, Collobrières, Correns, Cotignac, La Crau, La Croix-Valmer, Cuers, Draguignan, Entrecasteaux, Evenos, La Farlède, Figanières, Flassans-sur-Issole, Flayosc, Fréjus, La Garde, La Garde-Freinet, Gassin, Gonfaron, Grimaud, Hyères, La Londe-les-Maures, Lorgues, Le Luc, Les Mayons, Montfort-sur-Argens, La Môle, La Motte, Le Muy, Pierrefeu-du-Var, Pignans, Plan-de-la-Tour, Pourcieux, Pourrières, Le Pradet, Puget-sur-Argens, Puget-Ville, Ramatuelle, Roquebrune-sur-Argens, Saint-Antonin-du-Var, Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer, Sainte-Maxime, Saint-Paul-en-Forêt, Saint-Raphaël, Saint-Tropez, Sanary-sur-Mer, Seillans, Six-Fours-les-Plages, Solliès-Pont, Taradeau, Le Thoronet, Trans-en-Provence, La Valette-du-Var, Vidauban.

7. Main grape varieties

Grenache N

Semillon B

Syrah N - Shiraz

Tibouren N

Ugni blanc B

Vermentino B - Rolle

Mourvèdre N - Monastrell

Cinsaut N - Cinsault

Clairette B

8. Description of the link(s)

The geographical area of the Protected Designation of Origin ‘Côtes de Provence’ lies across the limestone area of lower Provence to the west and north, and across the crystalline area of lower Provence to the south and east (Maures and Esterel). It extends along the beaches of the Mediterranean, winding through the valleys, stretching across sun-baked rocks to the lines of pine groves, over a number of municipalities in the departments of Var, Bouches-du-Rhône and Alpes-Maritimes.

The advantage enjoyed by the ‘Côtes de Provence’ vineyards lies in the diversity of their geology and soils, along with the diversity of their mesoclimates. This diversity meant that local producers needed to adopt tools to enable them to achieve the greatest originality. They did this through selecting the varieties, the players on this natural chequer-board, and through adapting working methods such as tilling, density and pruning to make the vines productive while preserving them from the summer drought. Producers also significantly adapted their working conditions in the last century with significant material and technical investments.

The wines produced from these diverse varieties, and from equally diverse settings, certainly have their own variations. Nevertheless, their identity and originality is expressed in the shared practices and know-how of local producers, especially in the production of rosé wines.

A landscape of human mobility, the geographical area became a landscape of blending of grape varieties adapted down the ages, conferring quality and identity on the wines. For example, the varieties Grenache N and Tibouren N bring a richness of alcohol and roundness. Cinsaut N provides finish and elegance, Syrah N fruity aromas, and Mourvèdre N makes the wines well-suited to ageing.

The optimal ripening conditions are associated with the distribution of rainfall and temperatures, the concentration effects of the raw material and its healthy defences owing to prevailing winds. All of these contribute equally to the quality and originality of the wines produced. The balance between acidity and roundness, the steady colour and the elegant aromatic expression of the wines is the result of grapes grown and harvested with generous levels of sugar and polyphenols.

The parcels are clearly demarcated for the grape harvest according to usage. They are founded on shallow soils with good irrigation and drainage.

With 2 600 years of wine-making tradition, since 1980 the ‘Côtes de Provence’ region has undergone a real renaissance, especially with its production of rosé wines.

In times past, ‘Good King René’, or René of Anjou, Count of Provence, loved the wines of Provence. By making Marseille a free port, he encouraged wine production and trade. He also introduced the procedure for making ‘vin clairet’ (pale wine) and rosé wine. Thanks to the efforts of high-ranking ambassador Eleanor of Provence, who was to become Queen of England, these wine even took their place at the court in London. In the 17th and 18th centuries, they were highly prized in the French court where their reputation was enhanced by the writings of Madame de Sévigné, Countess of Grignan.

This reputation still endured in 2010. The wine-growers, co-operatives and traders continue in their efforts to improve the collective rules to promote the controlled designation of origin ‘Côtes de Provence’, their shared heritage, working to make the name and the character respected.

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

Area in immediate proximity

Legal framework:

National legislation

Type of further condition:

Derogation concerning production in the identified geographical area

Description of the condition:

The area in immediate proximity, defined by derogation for the production of wines, comprises the territory of the following 10 municipalities of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and 41 municipalities of the department of Var.

— In the department of Bouches-du-Rhône: Aubagne, Auriol, La Bouilladisse, Cassis, La Destrousse, Fuveau, Gardanne, Gémenos, Peypin, Roquevaire.

— In the department of Var: Bandol, Barjols, Belgentier, Bras, Brignoles, Brue-Auriac, Camps-la-Source, La Celle, Châteauvert, Fayence, Forcalqueiret, Garéoult, Le Lavandou, Mazaugues, Méounes-lès-Montrieux, Nans-les-Pins, Néoules, Ollières, Ollioules, Plan-d’Aups-Sainte-Baume, Pontevès, Rayol-Canadel-sur-Mer, Le Revest-les-Eaux, Riboux, Rocbaron, La Roquebrussanne, Rougiers, Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer, Saint-Maximim-la-Sainte-Baume, Saint-Zacharie, Sainte-Anastasie-sur-Issole, Sillans-la-Cascade, Seillons-Source-d’Argens, La Seyne-sur-Mer, Signes, Solliès-Ville, Toulon, Tourves, Le Val, Villecroze, Vins-sur-Caramy.

Labelling: Supplementary geographical designations

Legal framework:

National legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

The controlled designation of origin ‘Côtes de Provence’ can be supplemented by supplementary geographical designations ‘Fréjus’, ‘Sainte-Victoire’, ‘Pierrefeu’ and ‘Notre-Dame des Anges’ for the red and rosé wines.

The controlled designation of origin ‘Côtes de Provence’ can be supplemented by supplementary geographical designation ‘La Londe’ for the red, rosé and white wines.

The wines comply with the conditions laid down in the specification regarding the following: geographical area of origin of the grapes; wine-making and, occasionally, ageing; vine varieties; yields; fermentable sugar contents; and methods of production.

Labelling: Broader geographical unit

Legal framework:

National legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

On wines eligible for the controlled designation of origin, regardless of whether they are supplemented by a geographical designation, the broader geographical unit ‘Vin de Provence’ can be mentioned on the label. The size of the letters for this broader geographical unit must not be larger, either in height or width, than the size of the letters forming the name of the controlled designation of origin, regardless of whether they are supplemented by a geographical designation. The broader geographical unit ‘Vin de Provence’ must appear in the same field of vision as the name of the controlled designation of origin and the geographical designation.

Link to the product specification

https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/gedei/site/bo-agri/document_administratif-4b3f1e11-123a-4c14-aa16-91795aa8edf2

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