29.7.2019 EN Official Journal of the European Union C 254/3 V (Announcements) OTHER ACTS EUROPEAN COMMISSION 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 254/03) 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 ‘Haut-Médoc’ Reference number: PDO-FR-A0710-AM03 Date of communication: 10.4.2019 DESCRIPTION OF AND REASONS FOR THE APPROVED AMENDMENT 1. Demarcated parcel area Description and reasons This application includes the applications with reference PDO-FR-A0710-AM01 and PDO-FR-A0710-AM02, submit­ ted on 7 April 2016 and 12 January 2018, respectively. The following is inserted in chapter I, point IV(2) of the specification after the words ‘16 March 2007’: ‘ 28 September 2011, 11 September 2014, 9 June 2015, 8 June 2016, 23 November 2016 and 15 February 2018, and of its standing committee of 25 March 2014’. The purpose of this amendment is to add the dates on which the competent 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 regis­ tered designation of origin in question. Accordingly, as a r esult of this amendment, a new point (b) has been added to point XI(1) as follows: ‘(b) Vineyard parcels excluded from the demarcated parcel area, identified by their land registry references and surface area as per the list approved by the standing committee of the relevant national committee of the National Institute of Origin and Quality at its meeting of 25 March 2014, retain the right to the registered designation of origin for their har­ vests until the vines are grubbed up or until 31 December 2024 at the latest, on condition of compliance with the other provisions of this specification. The aforementioned list of parcels is attached as Annex II.’ An Annex II, listing the parcels excluded from the demarcated parcel area and benefiting from the above transitional measure, is therefore also added to the specification. The single document is not affected by these amendments. (1) OJ L 9, 11.1.2019, p. 2. C 254/4 EN Official Journal of the European Union 29.7.2019 2. Geographical area Description and reasons In chapter I, point IV(1) of the specification the municipalities of Cantenac and Margaux are deleted and the munici­ pality of Margaux-Cantenac is added. This amendment is a result of the merger of those municipalities. This amendment affects point 2.6 of the single document. 3. Area in immediate proximity Description and reasons In Chapter I, point IV(3)(b) of the specification, the municipalities of Aubie-et-Espessas, Castets-en-Dorthe, Castillon- de-Castets, Civrac-de-Dordogne, Saint-Antoine and Salignac are deleted. The municipalities of Val de Virvée, Castets et Castillon and Civil-sur-Dordogne are added. The municipalities of Aubie-et-Espessas, Saint-Antoine and Salignac have merged to become the municipality of Val de Virvée. The municipalities of Castets-en-Dorthe and Castillon-de-Castets have merged to become the municipality of Castets et Castillon. The municipality of Civrac-de-Dordogne has become Civrac-sur-Dordogne. These amendments affect point 2.9 of the single document. 4. Link Description and reasons In the first paragraph of Chapter I, point X(1)(a) of the specification, the number of municipalities in the geographi­ cal area has changed from 29 to 28 as a result of the merger of the municipalities of Cantenac and Margaux. This amendment affects point 2.8 of the single document. 5. Demarcated parcel area Description and reasons In Chapter I, point IV(2) of the specification, the dates 9 November 1960, 13y Ma 1970 and 6 November 1997 are deleted as they are no longer relevant in the context of the current demarcation. SINGLE DOCUMENT 1. Name of product Haut-Médoc 2. Geographical indication type PDO — Protected Designation of Origin 3. Categories of grapevine products 1. Wine 4. Description of the wine(s) The wines have a minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of 11 %. The wines' total alcoholic strength by volume after enrichment must not exceed 13 %. 29.7.2019 EN Official Journal of the European Union C 254/5 Every batch of wine sold in bulk or packaged has a fermentable sugar (glucose + fructose) content of less than or equal to 3 grams per litre. Every batch of wine sold in bulk or packaged before 1 October of the year following the year of harvest has a volatile acidity content of less than or equal to 12,25 milliequivalents per litre (0,60 grams per litre expressed as H2SO4). After that date, the volatile acidity content must not exceed 16,33 milliequivalents per litre (0,80 grams per litre expressed as H2SO4). Every batch of wine sold in bulk has an SO2 content of less than or equal to 0,140 milligrams per litre. Every batch of wine sold in bulk or packaged has a malic acid content of less than or equal to 0,20 grams per litre. The wines in question are still, tannic red wines of a deep colour and with excellent ageing qualities. They are usually obtained by blending, and Cabernet-Sauvignon N is typically the main grape variety. This variety gives the wines spicy notes, which blend with vanilla notes in wines aged in barrels. Merlot N makes for round, soft wines with aromas of red fruit, and Cabernet Franc N and Petit Verdot N enhance the wines' structure and complexity (adding freshness in years of good ripeness, in the case of Petit Verdot N). General analytical characteristics Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume) Minimum total acidity in milliequivalents per litre Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre) Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre) 5. Wine-making practices a. Essential oenological practices Density and distance Growing method The minimum planting density of the vines is 6 500 plants per hectare. The distance between the rows is 1,80 metres or less, and the spacing between plants in the same row is at least 0,80 metres. Pruning rules Growing method Pruning is mandatory. It is carried out at the unfolded leaves stage (Lorenz stage 9) at the latest. The vines are pruned according to the following techniques: — two-cane pruning, double Guyot or Médoc, with a maximum of five buds per cane; — simple Guyot and mixed Guyot, with a maximum of seven buds per vine; — short pruning, fan pruning to four arms or two cordons, with a maximum of 12 buds per vine. C 254/6 EN Official Journal of the European Union 29.7.2019 Enrichment Specific oenological practice Reductive methods of enrichment are permitted up to a concentration rate of 15 %. After enrichment, the wines' total alcoholic strength by volume must not exceed 13 %. b. Maximum yields 65 hectolitres per hectare 6. Demarcated geographical area The grapes are harvested and the wines made, processed and aged in the territory of the following municipalities in the department of Gironde: Arcins, Arsac, Avensan, Blanquefort, Castelnau-de-Médoc, Cissac-Médoc, Cussac-Fort- Médoc, Labarde, Lamarque, Listrac-Médoc, Ludon-Médoc, Macau, Margaux-Cantenac, Moulis-en-Médoc, Parempuyre, Pauillac, Le Pian-Médoc, Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc, Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Julien-Beychevelle, Saint-Laurent-Médoc, Saint- Médard-en-Jalles, Saint-Sauveur, Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne, Sainte-Hélène, Soussans, Le Taillan-Médoc and Vertheuil. 7. Main wine grapes Petit Verdot N 8. Description of the link(s) The geographical area of the ‘Haut-Médoc’ registered designation of origin covers the left bank of the Garonne and of the Gironde extending from the conurbation of Bordeaux. The area stretches over almost 50 kilometres from Le Taillan-Médoc in the south to Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne in the north, and about a dozen kilometres from east to west. The geographical area thus partly overlaps with that of the ‘Médoc’ registered designation of origin and con­ cerns the municipalities upstream of the Gironde estuary, hence the name. The area spans 28 municipalities of the Gironde department. Although the climate is predominantly Atlantic, the ‘Haut-Médoc’ river banks differ from the municipalities of the Médoc located further north in that seasonal fluctuations and rainfall are more moderate. These favourable climatic conditions are due to the presence of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gironde, whose waters have the effect of 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. Médoc wines have gained worldwide renown thanks to generations of winegrowers who have expertly exploited the special characteristics of the land. Over time, the winegrowers' detailed knowledge of the soils and expert use of drainage techniques to further improve their quality have allowed them to develop the best possible growing meth­ ods for producing red wines suited for ageing. Recent progress in plant health and the mechanisation of vineyards have not altered the winegrowers' determination to maintain growing methods allowing them to produce typical red wines with good keeping qualities.