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

(2019/C 370/11)

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

PAUILLAC

PDO-FR-A0713-AM03

Date of communication: 9.8.2019

DESCRIPTION OF AND REASONS FOR THE APPROVED AMENDMENT

1. Demarcated parcel area

The date of 6 September 2018 is added to the 2nd indent of point 2 of Chapter I of the specification.

2. Geographical area

Point IV(1) of the specification:

— the phrase ‘on the basis of the Official Geographic Code in force on 27 April 2018’ is added after the word ‘aged’;

— the municipality of Cissac-Médoc has been deleted.

This amendment follows on from the demarcation work which established that there was no claim for designations for the plots located in the municipality of Cissac-Médoc, which is now removed from the geographical area.

Point 1.6 of the Single Document on the geographical area has been amended accordingly.

3. Link with the geographical area

In point 1(a) of section X of the specification, the words ‘Cissac-Médoc’ have been removed.

This amendment follows the change in the geographical area.

The Single Document is not affected by this amendment.

4. Parcels outside the municipality of Pauillac

The annex setting out the list of parcels located outside the municipality of Pauillac and eligible to use the ‘Pauillac’ designation has been updated following the work on boundary setting.

The Single Document is not affected by this amendment.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

1. Name of product

Pauillac

2. Geographical indication type

PDO — Protected Designation of Origin

3. Categories of grapevine products

1. Wine

4. Description of the wine(s)

The name ‘Pauillac’ is can only be used for still red wines.

These wines have:

— a minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of 11 %

— a total alcoholic strength by volume after enrichment of 13,5 %

— a malic acid content of ≤ 0,30 g/l.

— a fermentable sugar content of ≤ 2 g/l.

— for wines sold in bulk, a volatile acidity content of ≤ 13,26 meq/l until 31 July of the year following that of the harvest, and ≤ 16,33 meq/l thereafter.

‘Pauillac’ wines are intense in colour. The wines are powerful and robust, notably due to the blending where Cabernet Sauvignon N is particularly dominant. The resulting tannic structure gives these wines excellent ageing capacity. Merlot N is nonetheless present, making for round, fruity wines. The structure and complexity are boosted by Cabernet Franc N and, to a lesser extent, Petit Verdot N. After long ageing, these wines develop a very complex bouquet.

The other criteria are in line with the applicable rules.

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

— Reductive methods of enrichment are permitted with a limit of a 15 % concentration rate.

— After enrichment, the wines’ total alcoholic strength by volume must not exceed 13,5 %.

Growing method

The minimum vine planting density is 7 000 plants per hectare.

The spacing between the rows of the vines must not exceed 1,5 metres, and the spacing between plants in the same row must be at least 0,80 metres.

Pruning is carried out at the unfolded leaves stage (Lorenz stage 9) at the latest.

Vines are pruned with a maximum of 12 buds per plant, using the following techniques:

— the so-called Médoc long pruning, or short and ‘shoot’ pruning, with two canes per plant and a maximum of four buds per cane for the Cot N, Cabernet Sauvignon N, Merlot N and Petit Verdot N varieties, and a maximum of five buds per cane for the Cabernet Franc N and Carmenère N varieties. Repeat short pruning has two buds;

— short pruning to two cordons, or fan pruning to four arms.

Irrigation during the growing season of the vine may be authorised in accordance with the provisions of Article D. 645-5 of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code.

b. Maximum yields

63 hectolitres per hectare

6. Demarcated geographical area

The grapes are harvested and the wines made, developed, and aged in the territory of the municipality of Pauillac in the department of Gironde, and on the parcels listed in the Annex to the specification for the following municipalities: Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Julien Beychevelle and Saint-Sauveur.

7. Main wine grapes

Petit Verdot N

Cabernet Franc N

Merlot N

Carmenère N

Cot N — Malbec N

Cabernet Sauvignon N

8. Description of the link(s)

The geographical area of production for the ‘Pauillac’ protected designation of origin is located in the department of Gironde in the central part of the Médoc peninsula, 50 km north of Bordeaux on the left bank of the estuary. It covers the territory of the municipality of Pauillac and part of the municipalities of Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Julien-Beychevelle and Saint-Sauveur.

This designation is produced in an area with a temperate oceanic climate and various climatic factors conducive to the establishment of a fine vineyard, thanks to the effect which the Atlantic Ocean and the Gironde have on regulating temperatures. The oceanic climate, in some years combined with periods of rain and low pressure in autumn, or, conversely, hot and very sunny late seasons, creates a notable ‘vintage effect’. The area’s main characteristics are, however, linked above all to the geology typical of this sedimentary basin, the specific geological history of its soils, its landscape and topography, and the current soil composition of its vineyards.

The parcel production area defines the plots whose soils are gravelly or gravelly with sand, on condition that the content of fine sand, usually windblown, is fairly low and the soil permeability is correct. The soils of Pauillac are among those best suited to Cabernet Sauvignon N, and Merlot N also thrives there. However, the parcels located on modern alluvial deposits, on large layers of windblown or poorly drained sandbanks, are excluded from the parcel production area because they are located on impermeable subsoil. The same applies to parcels which comprise artificial land, have been built on or used as gravel pits. The vineyard is managed very selectively, with limits on the distance between rows and monitoring of maximum load per parcel and per plant.

The quality and typical characteristics of the wines with the ‘Pauillac’ controlled designation of origin are based on the soil type and their topography in the vicinity of the estuary which protects the vineyard from climatic extremes.

Even more than in the other wine designations of the Médoc peninsula, the vintages of the municipality of Pauillac have been widely acknowledged by the various ownership classifications undertaken since the end of the 17th century. With currently 18 classified vintages (of which the leading ones were Lafite-Rothschild and Latour in 1855 and Mouton-Rothschild in 1973), this municipality has the largest number of classified vintages.

‘Pauillac’ wines are intense in colour. The wines are powerful and robust, notably due to the blending where Cabernet Sauvignon N is particularly dominant. The resulting tannic structure gives these wines excellent ageing capacity. Merlot N is nonetheless present, making for round, fruity wines. The structure and complexity are boosted by Cabernet Franc N and, to a lesser extent, Petit Verdot N. After long ageing, these wines develop a very complex bouquet.

Actual vine density is well above the 7 0000 plants per hectare required by the specification for the designation of origin and the controlled yield means grapes are very ripe, healthy and concentrated. Very long macerations and large extractions are thus possible to obtain the necessary structure for ageing. Consequently, an ageing time of at least six months is essential to encourage the tannin-anthocyanin combinations needed to stabilise the colour and for the tannins to become coated and, therefore, softer.

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

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 processing and ageing of the wines, comprises the territory of the following municipalities in the department of Gironde beyond the plots listed in annex: Cissac-Médoc, Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Julien-Beychevelle, Saint-Laurent-Médoc, Saint-Sauveur, Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne and Vertheuil.

Legal framework:

National legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

The broader geographical unit ‘Bordeaux-Médoc’, ‘Vin de Bordeaux-Médoc’ or ‘Grand Vin de Bordeaux-Médoc’ may be indicated on the label.

The size of the letters used must not be larger, either in height or in width, than two thirds of the size of the letters denoting the name of the registered designation of origin.

Link to the product specification

https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/gedei/site/bo-agri/document_administratif-6d2525a4-0869-49f7-97bf-4a489bee5499

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