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 2023/C 339/12
Date: 2023-09-26
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: France, Loire Region, consumer information, designation of origin, labelling, product designation, quality control of agricultural products, red wine, still wine








C_2023339EN.01002701.xml










26.9.2023   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 339/27







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
(2023/C 339/12)

This communication is published in accordance with Article 17(5) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 (1).
COMMUNICATION OF APPROVAL OF A STANDARD AMENDMENT


                     ‘Saumur-Champigny’
                  


PDO-FR-A0147-AM03


Date of communication: 27.6.2023
                  


DESCRIPTION OF AND REASONS FOR THE APPROVED AMENDMENT

1.   Official Geographic Code

The municipalities making up the geographical area and the area in immediate proximity have been updated in line with the Code officiel géographique [Official Geographic Code].
This does not affect the boundary of the demarcated geographical area.
Points 6 and 9 of the single document have been amended.
2.   Demarcated parcel area

Dates of meetings to approve demarcation have been added.
The purpose of this amendment is to add the date on which the competent national authority approved a modification of 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 suited to production of the product covered by the protected designation of origin in question.
The single document is not affected by this amendment.
3.   Spacing between vines

The minimum spacing between vines has been reduced from 1 m to 0,90 m.
The purpose of this amendment is to allow greater planting density without altering the spacing between the rows of vines.
A special provision has also been added for vines located on slopes where the gradient is greater than 10 %, where the authorised minimum distance between vines is 0,80 m.
This addition has been made to take account of the particular case of vines planted on steep slopes, where certain adjustments need to be made during planting (planting parallel rather than perpendicular to the slope).
Point 5 of the single document has been amended.
4.   Pruning

The pruning rules have been aligned with those of the other designations in the Anjou Saumur area of the Loire Valley.
This alignment is intended to ensure that winegrowers are better informed, and to simplify inspections. This amendment gives winegrowers the possibility of adapting when frosts occur, which is happening later and later in the year.
Point 5 of the single document has been amended.
5.   Link with the geographical area

The link has been amended by adjusting the number of municipalities following several mergers.
Point 8 of the single document has been amended.
6.   Labelling

The regulatory framework for optional terms has been clarified.
Point 9 of the single document has been amended.
7.   Transitional measures

Transitional measures no longer in force have been deleted.
These amendments do not require any changes to the single document.
8.   Editorial amendments

A number of editorial amendments have been made to the specification.
These amendments do not require any changes to the single document.
9.   Reference to the inspection body

The reference to the inspection body has been reworded to align it with the wording used in other product specifications. This is a purely editorial amendment.
It has not led to any changes in the single document.
SINGLE DOCUMENT
1.   Name(s)

Saumur-Champigny
2.   Geographical indication type

PDO - Protected Designation of Origin
3.   Categories of grapevine product







1.


Wine




4.   Description of the wine(s)

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION
The wines are still red wines. They have: - a minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of 10,5 %; - a maximum fermentable sugar content after fermentation of 3 grams per litre. After enrichment, the wines’ total alcoholic strength by volume must not exceed 12,5 %. Malolactic fermentation must be completed. Wines ready to be marketed in bulk or at the packaging stage must have a malic acid content that does not exceed 0.4 grams per litre.
The analytical criteria are in line with the applicable EU rules.
The wines are generally a dark-ruby colour, often heralding aromas of red fruits or violet. Fresh, round and smooth, they are equally capable of revealing their charm while still young or after years of preservation.






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.   Planting density - Spacing
Cultivation practice
The minimum planting density is 4 000 vines per hectare. Rows of vines must not be spaced more than 2,5 m apart. The vine trunks making up each row must be spaced at least 0,90 m apart.
Vineyard parcels where the distance between vines in the same row is less than 0,90 m but at least 0,80 m, and where the gradient is greater than 10 %, are entitled to use the controlled designation of origin for their harvest.
The controlled designation of origin may be used for vineyard parcels with a density of fewer than 4 000 – but at least 3 300 – vines per hectare, subject to compliance with certain vine-training and foliage-height rules laid down in the designation’s product specification. On such parcels, the rows of vines must not be spaced more than 3 m apart, and the vine trunks making up each row must be spaced at least 1 m apart.
2.   Pruning rules
Cultivation practice
The vines are pruned with a maximum of 12 buds per plant, regardless of whether spur pruning, cane pruning or mixed pruning is used. The vines can be pruned with two additional buds per plant on condition that, at the phenological stage corresponding to 11 or 12 leaves (separate flower buds), there are no more than 12 fruit-bearing branches for the year per plant.
3.   Enrichment
Specific oenological practice
Subtractive enrichment techniques are permitted, 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 12,5 %.
4.   Use of wood chips
Specific oenological practice
The use of wood chips is forbidden, except during the wine-making process.
5.   Irrigation
Cultivation practice
Irrigation is prohibited.
5.2.   Maximum yields

69 hectolitres per hectare
6.   Demarcated geographical area

All stages of production must take place in the geographical area, which spans the territories of the following municipalities of the Maine-et-Loire department, based on the 2021 Official Geographic Code: Bellevigne-les-Châteaux (only the territory of the delegated municipalities of Chacé and Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg), Montsoreau, Parnay, Saumur (only the territory of the former municipalities of Saumur and Dampierre-sur-Loire), Souzay-Champigny, Turquant, Varrains. Maps of the geographical area can be viewed on the website of the National Institute of Origin and Quality.
7.   Wine grape variety(-ies)

Cabernet franc N
8.   Description of the link(s)

8.1.   Link

1.   Information on the geographical area
(a)   Description of the natural factors relevant to the link
The vineyards form part of the former province of Anjou, where the far south-west of the Parisian Basin meets the foothills of the Armorican Massif. Historically, this juxtaposition of whitish, chalky soils with darker, schist and slate soils has been used to distinguish the ‘Anjou Blanc’ [White Anjou], or Saumur, region from the ‘Anjou Noir’ [Black Anjou], or Angers, region. The vineyards are bounded to the north by the River Loire. They are crossed from north to south by the valley of the River Thouet and its tributary, the Dive. The way in which this network of waterways carves through the landscape has left a succession of slopes oriented in various directions, measuring between 40 and 110 m high. The geographical area covers seven municipalities of the Maine-et-Loire department. These municipalities, which correspond to the Turonian cuesta and the formations that rise above it, form part of the geographical area of the ‘Saumur’ controlled designation of origin.
Vines have colonised the favourably oriented slopes and shaped the landscape, while the hilltops continue to be populated by coniferous or deciduous forests, predominantly oak and chestnut. The immense caves from which stone was quarried to build the local houses, and which are now used for growing mushrooms or as cellars, provide a ventilation outlet at the heart of the vineyards. The harmonious coexistence of vineyards with local buildings – an osmosis between the wine-growing villages and the walled vineyards attached to stately homes and châteaux built in the ‘Anjou Blanc’ tufa stone, with their characteristic gleaming white façades set with sculptures – contributed to the region being designated as a protected natural area and listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.
The parcels selected for harvesting grapes are specifically demarcated over the various Turonian formations: rendzina and chalky brown soils of varying depths. At the tops of the slopes these are covered with sands and clays originating from more recent epochs such as the Senonien or Eocene. These soils have good thermal properties and moderate water retention capacity. They are free from any sign of waterlogging.
The climate of the Saumur region is oceanic. The Mauges Massif, located to the west of the vineyards, adds a foehn effect that modulates these oceanic conditions. Annual average rainfall ranges from 550 mm to 600 mm, the geographical area as a whole being sheltered from the humid winds; it exceeds 800 mm over the Mauges hills. This difference in rainfall is even more marked during the vines’ growth cycle, in particular from June up to the harvest period. The influence of the ‘Seuil du Poitou’ [Poitou Gap], located to the south of the geographical area, gives it some more ‘southerly’ flavours, with the presence of species one might not expect to find on the banks of the Loire, such as holly oaks, olive trees or almond trees. Average annual temperatures are relatively high (around 12 °C).
(b)   Description of the human factors relevant to the geographical link
Up to the High Middle Ages, the vineyards of the Saumur were linked to those of the Anjou, which belonged to the Counts of Anjou. Geologically close to the Touraine region, the Saumur is closer to the Anjou region in historical and human terms. The birth of the ‘Saumur-Champigny’ vineyards dates back to 1066, when the slopes of the ‘Bois Doré’, which rise above the River Loire between Saumur and Montsoreau, were cleared by monks from St. Florent Abbey. The vineyards, known at that time as ‘Coteaux de Saumur’, earned a strong reputation for the quality of the white wines they produced.
The production of red wine emerged in the early 17th century. Around 1630, Cardinal Richelieu, then resident in Guyenne, sent to his intendant in Touraine, for planting in the cantons of Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur, thousands of vines of the most highly prized variety in the Bordeaux region: Cabernet franc N. It would appear, however, that this variety arrived earlier than that, via the port of Nantes (hence its local name ‘Breton’), as a result of the union between its region of origin, Aquitaine, and the Anjou following the marriage between Henry Plantagenet and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
The 18th century saw a sharp rise in red wine consumption and in the number of plantations of the Cabernet franc N variety. Count Odart wrote the following about Cabernet franc N in his 1845 ‘
                        Traité des cépages
                        ’ treatise on grape varieties: ‘this variety is extremely common in western France and is what gives Bordeaux wine, the red wines of Chinon and Bourgueil and the wines of Champigny their distinctive character.’ In 1861, however, Guillory Sr points out that the red wines are harvested in far lower quantities than their white counterparts. He wrote the following in an Angers Agricultural and Industrial Company Bulletin: ‘on the left banks of the Loire, the most renowned red wine vintages are Souzay, Champigny and Dampierre.’
                     
The growth of the Cabernet franc N variety would be slow but steady, thanks in the main to Antoine Cristal, a cutting-edge wine producer from the municipality of Parnay in the late 19th century. His efforts to control, adapt and develop this variety helped the controlled designation of origin ‘Saumur-Champigny’ to take off in the 1960s, confirming the words of Dr Maisonneuve in his 1925 work ‘
                        L’Anjou, ses vignes et ses vins
                        ’: ‘it works magnificently in the chalky soils of the Saumur region, producing the region’s great Champigny wines.’
                     
The creation of a cooperative winery in 1957 was key to the development of markets, initially in Paris then throughout France, and for export outside the country from the 1980s onwards. By 2009, an average of 70 000 hl of the controlled designation of origin ‘Saumur-Champigny’ was being produced.
2.   Information on the quality and characteristics of the product

                     ‘Saumur-Champigny’ are very pleasant red wines. They are generally a dark-ruby colour, often heralding aromas of red fruits or violet. Fresh, round and smooth, they are equally capable of revealing their charm while still young or after years of preservation.
3.   Causal interactions
Thanks to the combination of a relatively warm, dry climate and chalky, well-drained soils that favour a regular but not excessive supply of water, the Cabernet franc N variety has become well established on the most favourably oriented slopes, promoting early growth and ventilation of the grapes, which helps them reach their optimum level of ripeness. Winegrowers were quick to assimilate techniques that enabled them to extract the best from their grapes by adapting their wine-making techniques. These techniques, which are mostly common practice by now, were exhibited by eminent oenologist Sébille-Auger at a congress in Bordeaux in 1843, through a presentation of a winery in Souzay-Champigny.
During the second half of the 20th century, the controlled designation of origin ‘Saumur-Champigny’ saw significant growth in planted area and sales for export to more than 40 countries.
Efforts by the local community to memorialise these vineyards were rewarded with their listing as a UNESCO world heritage site. Today, the controlled designation of origin ‘Saumur-Champigny’, recognised as one of the most prestigious of the Loire Valley, confirms the words of Georges Clémenceau when he discovered the wine produced by his friend Antoine Cristal: ‘a country that produces this wine is a great country, for a country without history or a great civilisation cannot be said to be great.’
                  
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:
Optional terms whose use, under EU rules, may be regulated by the Member States must be printed on the labels in letters that are no larger, in height or width, than twice the size of the letters forming the name of the controlled designation of origin.
The name of the controlled designation of origin may be followed by the geographical name ‘Val de Loire’, in accordance with the rules laid down in the specification. The size of the letters of the geographical name ‘Val de Loire’ must not be larger, either in height or in width, than two thirds of the size of the letters forming the name of the controlled designation of origin.
Wines with the controlled designation of origin may specify a smaller geographical unit on their label, provided that:






—


it is a registered place name;










—


it appears on the harvest declaration.




The registered place name must be printed in letters that are no larger, either in height or in width, than half the size of the letters forming the name of the controlled designation of origin.

Area in immediate proximity

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 production of wines, comprises the territory of the following municipalities, on the basis of the 2021 Official Geographic Code:






—


Department of Deux-Sèvres: Saint-Martin-de-Mâcon, Tourtenay;










—


Department of Indre-et-Loire: Chinon;










—


Department of Maine-et-Loire: Artannes-sur-Thouet, Bellevigne-les-Châteaux (only the territory of the delegated municipality of Brézé), Brossay, Cizay-la-Madeleine, Le Coudray-Macouard, Courchamps, Distré, Doué-en-Anjou (only the territory of the delegated municipalities of Concourson-sur-Layon, Doué-la-Fontaine, Forges, Meigné and Les Verchers-sur-Layon), Épieds, Fontevraud-l’Abbaye, Montreuil-Bellay, Le Puy-Notre-Dame, Rou-Marson, Saint-Just-sur-Dive, Saumur (only the territory of the former municipalities of Bagneux and Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent), Terranjou (only the territory of the delegated municipality of Chavagnes), Les Ulmes, Vaudelnay;










—


Department of Vienne: Berrie, Curçay-sur-Dive, Glénouze, Pouançay, Ranton, Saint-Léger-de-Montbrillais, Saix, Ternay, Les Trois-Moutiers.





Link to the product specification

https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/gedei/site/bo-agri/document_administratif-55cef068-39e1-4df2-bf73-61d4fbc63ff2


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