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 2023/C 66/07
Date: 2023-02-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: Centre-Val de Loire, France, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, product designation, quality control of agricultural products, red wine, rosé wine, white wine








C_2023066EN.01002101.xml










23.2.2023   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 66/21






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
(2023/C 66/07)
This communication is published in accordance with Article 17(5) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 (1).
COMMUNICATING THE APPROVAL OF A STANDARD AMENDMENT

‘Valençay’


PDO-FR-A0320-AM02


Date of communication: 23.11.2022


DESCRIPTION OF AND REASONS FOR THE APPROVED AMENDMENT

1.   Official Geographic Code

The list of municipalities has been updated on the basis of the 2021 Official Geographic Code in relation to the geographical area and area in immediate proximity.
This merely changes the wording and has no impact on the geographical area.
Points 6 and 9 of the single document have been amended.
2.   Pruning

The pruning rules have been simplified.
Point 5 of the single document has been amended.
3.   Crop load per vine

There is no longer a maximum load per vine. Maintaining an average maximum crop load per parcel ensures that the harvest is of good quality.
The single document has not been amended.
4.   Agri-ecological provisions

The various environmental provisions have been added:






—


Chemical weed control is prohibited on headlands.










—


Full chemical weed control on parcels is prohibited.










—


Between the rows, naturally occurring and/or planted vegetation is managed by physical or mechanical means.




These amendments are intended to take better account of the environment and of general demands for less use of plant protection products.
The single document has not been amended.
5.   Analytical standards

Sugar levels and minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume have been increased to improve the quality of the harvest.
The maximum volatile acidity and iron content have been deleted as European standards apply.
In connection with the increase in grape sugars, the maximum alcoholic strength by volume after enrichment has been increased from 12,5 % to 13 %.
Points 4 and 5 of the single document have been amended.
6.   Oenological charcoal

Use of oenological charcoal was not permitted previously, but limited, regulated use is now allowed: ‘In the production of rosé wines, use of oenological charcoal, alone or mixed in preparations, is permitted for the musts of new wines still in fermentation within a limit of 20 % of the volume of rosé wines made by a given winegrower for a specific harvest, at a maximum amount of 60 grams per hectolitre.’ The aim is to ensure that any such use is targeted towards batches of lower organoleptic or analytical quality (particularly batches in which aromas have been altered as a result of oxidation), but does not alter the product’s typical characteristics.
Point 5 of the single document has been amended accordingly.
7.   Winery capacity

The winery capacity has been increased to 1.6 times the number obtained when the surface area is multiplied by the holding’s average yield per hectare over the last five years.
The purpose of increasing the winery capacity is to improve the management of stocks and the conditions for making the red wines.
The single document has not been amended.
8.   Transport between authorised warehouses

Point 5(b), section IX, chapter 1, concerning the date from which the wines can be transported between authorised warehouses, has been deleted.
The single document has not been amended.
9.   Link

The reference to 2008 has been deleted.
Point 8 of the single document has been amended.
10.   Transitional measures

The expired transitional measures have been deleted.
The single document has not been amended.
11.   Declaration requirements

The declaration requirements have been adjusted so that the inspection body is also informed.
The single document has not been amended.
12.   Keeping a register

A register for monitoring ripening and packaging has been made mandatory.
The single document has not been amended.
13.   Main points to be checked

The main points to be checked have been revised to bring them into line with the inspection methods and amendments to product specifications.
The single document has not been amended.
14.   Reference to the inspection body

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.
The single document has not been amended.
SINGLE DOCUMENT
1.   Name(s)

Valençay
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 have a minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of 10 %. The total alcoholic strength by volume of the wines after enrichment does not exceed 13 %. After packaging, the wines have:






—


a maximum fermentable sugar content (glucose + fructose) of 4 grams per litre for the white and rosé wines;










—


a minimum total acidity expressed in grams of tartaric acid per litre of 3,5 for the white and rosé wines.




The total sulphur dioxide content and total acidity of the white and rosé wines are as laid down by EU legislation.
The aromas of the white wines are generally dominated by intense floral notes (broom, white flowers, etc.), possibly combined with a touch of minerality such as flint, in keeping with the high flint content in the soils. However, these lively wines offer a certain roundness in the mouth.
The rosé wines are generally light, nervy without being aggressive and have strong aromas of ripe fruit.






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)


 




2.   Red wines

BRIEF WRITTEN DESCRIPTION
The wines have a minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of 10 %. The total alcoholic strength by volume of the wines after enrichment does not exceed 13 %. After packaging, the wines have a maximum fermentable sugar content (glucose + fructose) of 2 grams per litre for the red wines. The red wines are subject to malolactic fermentation and their malic acid content does not exceed 0,3 grams per litre. The total sulphur dioxide content and total acidity of the red wines are as laid down by EU legislation.
The red wines have a colour often tending towards ruby, with aromas of small red fruit, sour cherries and spicy and fresh notes. They are pleasant when young, and some reveal their full potential when aged for three to five years.






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

5.1.   Specific oenological practices

1.   Specific oenological practice

In the production of rosé wines, use of oenological charcoal, alone or mixed in preparations, is permitted for the musts of new wines still in fermentation within a limit of 20 % of the volume of rosé wines made by a given winegrower for a specific harvest, at a maximum amount of 60 grams per hectolitre. The total alcoholic strength by volume of the wines after enrichment does not exceed 13 %. In addition to the above provisions, all wine-making practices followed must also comply with the requirements laid down at EU level and in the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code.
2.   Density

Cultivation method
The minimum planting density of the vines is 6 000 plants per hectare, with a maximum distance of 1,70 metres between rows. The spacing between plants in the same row must be at least 0,90 metres.
3.   Pruning

Cultivation method
The vines are pruned using the following techniques:






—


single Guyot










—


‘Y’ type










—


spur pruning (éventail pruning or single and double Royat cordon pruning).




Depending on the grape variety, the average number of buds per plant must be at most:






—


9 buds in total for Côt and Gamay;










—


12 buds for the other varieties.




5.2.   Maximum yields

1.   Red and rosé wines
65 hectolitres per hectare
2.   White wines
68 hectolitres per hectare
6.   Demarcated geographical area

The grapes are harvested and the wines made, processed and matured in the geographical area approved by the National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO) 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 relevant national committee, comprises the territory of the following municipalities, based on the 2021 Official Geographic Code:






—


Department of Indre: Chabris, Fontguenand, Luçay-le-Mâle, Lye, Menetou-sur-Nahon, Poulaines, Valençay, Val-Fouzon (only the territories of the delegated municipalities of Parpeçay and Varennes-sur-Fouzon), La Vernelle, Veuil, Villentrois-Faverolles.




7.   Wine grape variety(ies)

Cabernet Franc N
Chardonnay B
Gamay N
Orbois B
Pineau d’Aunis N
Pinot Noir N
8.   Description of the link(s)

8.1.   Description of the natural factors relevant to the link

The geographical area of the ‘Valençay’ controlled designation of origin, around ten kilometres south-west of the town of Romorantin-Lanthenay, forms a broad plateau intersected by valleys through which small rivers flow north. Some of these meet in the Fouzon valley, parallel to the Cher valley, before joining the Cher at the northern boundary of the geographical area. The geographical area stretches across the territory of 13 municipalities in the north of the department of Indre and the territory of Selles-sur-Cher, a municipality of Loir-et-Cher. The landscape, marked by many small forested areas, woodland remnants and the Valençay forest uplands, is sheltered. The vineyard parcels tend to be located on the edges of the plateau left exposed by erosion and on the small hills.
The parcels specifically demarcated for grape harvesting have soils which have mainly formed as follows:






—


to the south of the geographical area, on the soft chalky Turonian soils (rendzina, brown limestone soils) and upper Cretaceous flint clays (leached or eroded brown soils);










—


to the south-east of the geographical area, on the clayey-sandy substances of the detritic Eocene, sometimes with a high gravel content;










—


to the north of the geographical area, near the Cher and Fouzon valleys, mainly on the lacustrine limestone of the Berry and Beauce regions from the Eocene and Aquitanian (rendzina and brown limestone soils), and occasionally on the clayey-sandy formations of Sologne (Burdigalian).




In this regional climate, the semi-maritime climate is characterised by slightly higher average and minimum temperatures and slightly cooler maximum temperatures over the growing period of the vines.

Description of the human factors relevant to the link

The region of ‘Valençay’ was part of the historic province of Berry. The first known indications of vines - donations made to the abbey - date back to the 10th century. A notarial deed from the 15th century mentions ‘many vines along the Nahon’, and the many other indications in documents from later centuries attest, if not to the development of viticulture, at least to its continuation.
Talleyrand, the owner of Valençay Castle, also owned a dozen hectares of vines on his land. In 1830, his niece, the Duchess of Dino, stated that good wines consumed across the whole department were harvested in the canton of Valençay.
In 1876, in his study of the vineyards of France (‘Etude des vignobles de France’), Jules Guyot noted that the vineyards along the rivers of Valençay canton produced the best wine in the department. While these rivers were not navigable, some of the wine produced was already exported in the 19th century, in particular via the Cher, although most of the wines were sold more locally.
Red wines account for 50 % of the volume produced, white wines 40 % and rosé wines 10 %. The aromas of the white wines are generally dominated by intense floral notes (broom, white flowers, etc.), possibly combined with a touch of minerality such as flint, in keeping with the high flint content in the soils. However, these lively wines offer a certain roundness in the mouth.
8.2.   The red wines have a colour often tending towards ruby, with aromas of small red fruit, sour cherries and spicy and fresh notes. They are pleasant when young, and some reveal their full potential when aged for three to five years.

The rosé wines are generally light, nervy without being aggressive and have strong aromas of ripe fruit. Reflecting established practice, the parcel area demarcated for harvesting the grapes only includes rendzina, brown soils or shallow soils, and sandy clay soils. These healthy soils typically have good thermal properties and limited water reserves and they encourage early development of the vegetation and the ripening of the grapes. It is advantageous to plant vineyards on the edges of plateaux.
In these conditions, plants and their production potential need to be extremely well managed by means of vine-training and rigorous pruning.
Adapted to the soil and to a climate that is subject to both maritime and continental influences, with the Cher valley playing a role in temperature regulation, expertise in choosing grape varieties and tending the vines comes from the experience acquired over several generations of winegrowers who are continually working to improve their products. This know-how is also reflected in the wine-maker’s choice of the right varieties for blending.
These choices result in the production of lively, round white wines with notes of flowers typical of clay-limestone soils or a minerality from soils with a high flint content. The shallow soils are quickly warmed and produce red wines with notes of small red fruit and spices. As these circumstances promote a good level of ripening, the rosé wines produced have notes of ripe fruit and freshness at the same time.
The local community's creation of a wine with character was recognised initially by the designation of origin ‘vins délimités de qualité supérieure’ (quality wines from certain delimited areas) in 1970 and then by the controlled designation of origin in 2004.
With echoes of the poems of Ronsard or Peguy and the evocation of key periods in the history of France, ‘Valençay’ still produces its wines which once adorned a royal or princely table and are the pride of the Cher valley.
9.   Essential further conditions (packaging, labelling, other requirements)

Legal framework
National 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, processing and maturing of the wines, comprises the territory approved by the National Institute of Origin and Quality at the meeting of the competent national committee on 10 February 2011. On the date of approval of this specification by the relevant national committee, this territory comprises the territory of the following municipalities, based on the 2021 Official Geographic Code:






—


Department of Indre: Saint-Christophe-en-Bazelle, Vicq-sur-Nahon, Val-Fouzon (only the territory of the delegated municipality of Sainte-Cécile);










—


Department of Indre-et-Loire: Nouans-les-Fontaines;










—


Department of Loir-et-Cher: Billy, Châteauvieux, Châtillon-sur-Cher, Couffy, Meusnes.




Legal framework
National legislation
Type of further condition
Additional provisions relating to labelling
Description of the condition






(a)


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.










(b)


Wines with the controlled designation of origin may specify on their labels the name of a smaller geographical unit, 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-5fb136ab-6126-4e61-a569-7094f9a12b65


(1)  OJ L 9, 11.1.2019, p. 2.