Within 3 months from the date of this publication, the authorities of a Member State or of a third country, or a natural or legal person having a legitimate interest and established or resident in a third country, may lodge, in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1), an opposition with the Commission.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

’Tharsys'

PDO-ES-02980

Date of application: 27.7.2023

1.   Name to be registered

Tharsys

2.   Geographical indication type

PDO – Protected designation of origin

3.   Categories of grapevine products

1.

Wine

5.	Quality sparkling wine

3.1.   Combined Nomenclature code

—	22 – BEVERAGES, SPIRITS AND VINEGAR 2204 – Wine from fresh grapes, whether or not fortified; grape must, other than that of heading 2009

4.   Description of the wine(s)

1.   Red wine

Appearance: clear and bright purple-red colour with hues ranging from violet to cherry in the young wines, and garnet red to ruby red in the aged wines.

Aroma: Very intense, blue-flower notes in the young wines, developing into notes of red fruits, balsamic notes of aromatic herbs, and mineral finish. Barrel-ageing gives the wines toasted, spicy and smoky aromas, with lactic notes.

Taste: Medium-high structure, smooth and mature tannins. Medium acidity.

*	For limits that have not been specified, the appropriate EU legislation shall be complied with.

General analytical characteristics:

—	Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume): —

—	Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume): 13,0

—	Minimum total acidity: 4,5 grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid

—	Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre): 10

—	Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre): 80

2.   White wine and rosé wine

WHITE WINE:

Appearance: clear, lemon-yellow colour with golden glints, which changes into old-gold colour with time.

Aroma: intense and clear aroma with notes of flowers, stone fruits, citrus fruits, and aromas of aromatic herbs, with a mineral finish.

Taste: clear and intense taste, with a medium structure. Medium to high acidity. Taste of stone fruits, citrus fruits and fresh aromatic herbs.

ROSÉ WINE:

Appearance: clear, pale pink colour with orange glints that changes into a salmon hue with time.

Aroma: intense and clear aroma with notes of flowers, stone fruits, citrus fruits and red fruits, and aromas of fresh aromatic herbs, with a mineral finish. Aged in barrels, unfolding toasted-spices and smoky aromas.

Taste: clear and intense taste, with a medium structure. Medium to high acidity. Taste of stone fruits, red fruits and aromatic herbs. Fresh and mineral after-taste.

*	For limits that have not been specified, the appropriate EU legislation shall be complied with.

General analytical characteristics:

—	Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume): —

—	Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume): 11,5

—	Minimum total acidity: 5,35 in grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid

—	Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre): 8,33

—	Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre): 130

3.   Quality sparkling wines (white and rosé)

QUALITY SPARKLING WINE - WHITE:

Appearance: Clear. Bright yellow old-gold colour, fine, even bubbles.

Aroma: Clear. Intense aromas of white flowers, ripe stone fruits and citrus fruits, also herbal notes of moss and fresh aromatic herbs and mineral notes, as well as aromas of fresh butter, toasted bread crust and lightly roasted almonds.

Taste: High intensity. Medium-bodied. Medium to high acidity. Delicate and smooth bubbles on the palate.

QUALITY SPARKLING WINE - ROSÉ:

Appearance: Clear. Pale pink colour, with a bright coppery edge. Fine, delicate and long-lasting bubbles.

Aroma: Clear and intense nose. Subtle notes of flowering trees, notes of citrus fruits, cherries, raspberries and fresh aromatic herbs, aromas of fresh butter, toasted bread, talc and a mineral finish.

Taste: Very intense, medium-bodied, medium to high acidity. Delicate bubbles.

*	For limits that have not been specified, the appropriate EU legislation shall be complied with.

General analytical characteristics:

—	Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume): —

—	Minimum actual alcoholic strength (in % volume): 10,5

—	Minimum total acidity: 5,35 in grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid

—	Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre): 6,67

—	Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre): 100

5.   Wine making practices

a.   Essential oenological practices

Cultivation method

Grapes certified by the CAECV (Comité d’Agricultura Ecològica de la Comunitat Valenciana, or committee on organic farming in the Autonomous Community of Valencia).

Controlled pruning, green pruning and, if necessary, green harvesting, so as not to exceed the yield limits per hectare.

Specific oenological practice

Maximum extraction yield:

Black varieties: 70,5 %

White varieties: 71,5 %

Certification of organic and vegan wines. For the production of category 1 white and rosé wines, white and red grape varieties are harvested at night.

b.   Maximum yields

1.

Red grape varieties 8 500 kilograms of grapes per hectare 60 hectolitres per hectare

2.

White grape varieties 10 500 kilograms of grapes per hectare 75 hectolitres per hectare

6.   Demarcated geographical area

According to the SIGPAC measurement, the vineyard area is 19,5 ha in the municipality of Requena (Valencia). It includes the following parcels, based on the nomenclature of the Land Parcel Information System (Sistema de Información Geográfica de Parcelas Agrícolas - SIGPAC).

—	Polygon: 47

—	Parcels: 205, 212, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231,232, 233, 234, 235, 316, 880 and 923a.

—	The geographical boundaries of the Tharsys enclave are: — To the north: National road III. — To the east: an industrial zone. — To the south and the west: hedging, pathway and level difference with adjacent crop fields.

7.   Wine grapes variety(ies)

ALBARIÑO

BOBAL

CABERNET FRANC

CHARDONNAY

RED GRENACHE

MERLOT

XARELLO

8.   Description of the link(s)

8.1.   Justification of the name

Since the 16th century, the name ‘Tharsys’ has been used to designate vineyards near the urban area of Requena, where the roads to the east of the town intersected and the Fuencaliente spring was located. Since the 19th century, there has also been an underground winery here.

The largest land surface within the enclave, which we are now seeking to protect, was owned since the 16th century by the Nuévalos-Comas family, one of the big families in La Villa of Requena, and remained in their hands until 1998 when it was purchased by the current owners.

The first reference to this name appears in the book ‘ Historia de Requena [History of Requena]’ by Enrique Herrero and Moral (1890) naming Tharsys as the founder of Requena.

The origin of the Tharsys enclave dates back to the 16th century, when it was already a place well known for its vine cultivation and for the exceptional quality of its grapes.

According to the Ensenada Cadastre of 1752, the enclave consisted of a manor house, a flour mill and a large vineyard of one hundred peonadas [agrarian measure used in some provinces, equivalent to 380 400 m2] bordering the Camino Real de Madrid (now the N-III road) to the north.

This spot and its population enclave continued to evolve and became an important hamlet known by the residents of the surrounding villages as the ‘Hamlet of Tharsys’. It came to consist of seven houses and yards, a main house, the winery, and the mill, which were inhabited until the 1960s.

For its part, the winery was operational until 1950, producing wines known at that time for their quality and longevity. For two centuries, this enclave was famous for its wines.

In 1998 the new owners resumed activities in the winery and the surrounding vineyards. They undertook an exemplary project to restore the vineyard and renovate the old winery dug from the rock and brought the prestige back to the enclave.

The project started in 1998 adopted the old name of the enclave ‘Tharsys’. January 2022 marked 24 years since the restoration began. The enclave remains well known to this day for this name and for the uniqueness and quality of its wines. In 2015, the entire vineyard of the enclave obtained an organic farming certification. This certification process has improved the wine quality, soil preservation, vine health and the sustainability of the enclave’s natural environment.

8.2.   Natural factors

SOILS:

The Tharsys site occupies a small area in the western part of the province of Valencia, a border area located in the eastern confines of the southern Iberian sub-plateau. Specifically, it is located to the west of the Requena municipality (district of Utiel-Requena), at an altitude of 690 m and protected to the north by the Sierra de Juan Navarro (at 1 200 m). It is a natural enclave with vineyard cultivation near the Magro river valley, with mild slopes where Cretaceous sediments alternate with those of the Tertiary period.

The entire demarcated area of Tharsys forms a single unit with specific characteristics and a very mild gradient of less than 2 % difference. It is located at a higher level of up to 10 metres with surrounding arable land on the western and southern borders. This altitude difference is due to the minor erosion it has had because of a different soil type. This enclave is seated on a large porous limestone bedrock (Miocene Pontian) of sedimentary origin, which is between 2 and 4 metres deep. The erosion of these materials has led to the formation of loose, permeable, shallow and very fresh soils, with a field capacity of around 18,5 - 21,3 gr/100 g. The presence of subsurface groundwater makes it possible to keep a limited risk of hydraulic stress and allows the soils to remain fresh, as mentioned. In the immediate vicinity of the demarcated area, there are many springs (Fuencaliente, Fuente Flores and Fuente Santa Catalina), which show that the area has abundant water reserves.

According to the soil texture classification in ‘Soil Taxonomy: A Basic System of Soil Classification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys’ published by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the soils of the Tharsys enclave are sandy and sandy-loam (dimension of the primary soil particles are between 0,1 and 0,5 mm) and have hues between beige and light brown. These are alkaline soils, with pH values ranging from 8,2 - 8,3. The organic matter content is low, at around 1,26 - 1,43 gr/100 gr, with high levels of total carbonates, 38 - 46 gr/100 gr and medium to high active limestone 5 - 18 gr/100 gr.

The soil of the Tharsys enclave is very different from the soils that characterise the neighbouring ‘Utiel-Requena’ Denomination of Origin (DO), which are clay and clay-loam. Therefore, their effects on vine cultivation and the resulting wines are completely different.

The following table highlights the differences between the soil of the Tharsys site and the typical soils of the Utiel-Requena DO:

CHARACTERISTICS:

Sandy soil ‘Tharsys’ enclave / Clay soil Utiel-Requena DO

Primary particle size: Between 0,1 and 0,5 mm / Between 0,001 and 0,002 mm

Water infiltration: High / Lower

Aeration: High / Lower

Water retention: Low / High

Erosion: Low / High

Nutrient retention: Low / High

Mineralisation of organic matter: High / Low

Ease of structure formation: Medium-low / High

Crop yield: Low / High

CLIMATOLOGY:

The climate of the demarcated area, despite its proximity to the coast just 60 km to the east, is of a continental type with a slight Mediterranean influence due to the altitude of 690 m, and the mountains that fence it in the east as a screen and impede the arrival of Mediterranean storms and maritime influence.

The scant rainfall in the demarcated enclave comes mostly from the Manchegan Plateau located to the south, where the storms coming from the Atlantic make landfall.

The average annual rainfall is low at around 430 mm per year, mainly in autumn and spring, while the summers and winters are dry. The rainiest month in spring is May, with an average rainfall of 47,6 mm, and the rainiest month in autumn is October, with an average rainfall of 76,2 mm. Sunlight is very intense, with more than 3 000 hours of sunshine per year. The average annual temperature is 14 °C and the temperature differences are both inter-seasonal and between day and night, as is the case of the fresh summer nights, with temperatures reaching as high as 33 °C during the day and falling to as low as 12 °C at night. This is very beneficial for plant growth and for the proper ripening of grapes. Winter is long and cold with an average temperature between 3 - 7 °C, that often drops below zero. Spring is fresh with an average temperature between 8 - 16 °C and occasional frost. Summer is hot and short, with an average temperature between 19 – 22 °C while autumn is fresh, with an average temperature between 7 – 16 °C.

Due to the particular north-south orientation of the vineyard in Tharsys, the predominant winds blow from east to west. These crosswinds aerate the vines, preventing spring frost and creating a micro-climate around the vineyard, preventing the development of fungal diseases. Furthermore, within the Tharsys demarcated area, there is an important natural arboreal mass, consisting of century-old elms (Ulmus minor), ancient Mediterranean hackberry trees (Celtis australis), wild fig trees (Ficus carica) and old olive trees (Olea Europaea) and a stable freshwater lake. The water body and tall trees moderate the extreme temperatures into warmer winters and cooler summers, producing a unique micro-climate in the enclave, with a difference of up to 3 °C degrees with respect to the area average.

The micro-climate is therefore more temperate and milder than the surrounding Utiel-Requena DO area, with fewer extreme-temperature variations and greater aeration than averaged by its neighbouring areas, thus producing wines with excellent phenolic ripening that better preserve their acidity.

8.3.   Link between the surrounding conditions and the characteristics of the wine

The ‘Tharsys’ enclave microclimate with its aeration of grapes, moderation of extreme temperatures, loose and permeable lacustrine limestone soils produce low yields of healthy grapes that ripen slowly. These produce lasting and stable red, white, and rosé wines with a high alcohol content, a low acidity and pH, a medium colour intensity, and an intense aroma and taste. The quality sparkling wines have a high acidity (freshness) and low pH, intense taste and aroma, a good structure and medium body due to the moderate climate and the characteristics of the limestone soil. They are also lasting, and these characteristics are preserved as they age. The low alcohol level is achieved by early harvesting.

8.4.   Differences with the neighbouring do (utiel-requena do)

The Utiel-Requena DO covers 32 567 ha of vineyards and encompasses 9 municipalities. It covers a very large area, with very different soil and climatic characteristics from those of the ‘Tharsys’ enclave.

The ‘Utiel-Requena’ PDO has heavily eroded clay soils with a low degree of water infiltration and high degree of nutrient retention, which gives a high crop yield. This is in contrast to the ‘Tharsys’ enclave, whose soils are made of sandy limestone, little eroded, have a high degree of water infiltration and low degree of nutrient retention, which gives a low crop yield.

The following table compare the features of the wines from the designation of origin Utiel-Requena and those from the Tharsys enclave, to demonstrate the difference between the two:

PARAMETER:

PDO Utiel-Requena /// Enclave Tharsys

(Red / White / Rosé / Quality sparkling wines /// Red / White and rosé / Quality sparkling wines)

Maximum extraction yield (%): 74 /// 70,5

Minimum alcohol level (% vol.) Minimum: 10,5 / 10 / 9 / 11 /// 13 / 11,5 / 10,5

Minimum total acidity (in g/l): 3,5 / 4 / 4 / 4,5 /// 4,5 / 5,35 / 5,35

Maximum volatile acidity (in g/l): 0,9 / 0,9 / 0,9 / 0,9 /// 0,6 / 0,5 / 0,4

Maximum sulphur dioxide (in g/l): 150 / 200 / 200 / 185 /// 80 / 130 / 100

Mandatory organic production and processing: YES / NO

Compulsory vegan certification: YES / NO

Colour intensity: High / Medium / High / Medium /// Medium / Low / Low

Colour stableness: Medium / Low / Low /Low / /// High / High / High

Aroma/taste intensity: Medium / Medium / Medium / Low /// High / High / High

Longevity: Medium / Low / Low / Low /// High / High / High

In comparison, the Utiel-Requeno PDO category 1 wines have a lower alcoholic strength, lower natural total acidity and higher pH. The Utiel-Requena PDO category 5 wines have a lower natural total acidity and higher pH. This is due to the micro-climate of the Tharsys enclave, which facilitates the aeration of grapes (vineyard orientation) and moderates extreme temperatures (body of trees and lacustrine deposits), favouring the production of healthy grapes that ripen slowly and better retain their acidity. It is also due to the enclave's sandy soil that is very different from the general clay of the DO Utiel-Requena, with low nutrient retention and lacustrine limestones, which gives low grape yields.

These limestone soils produce stable and lasting wines with medium to low colour intensity, unlike those produced under the Utiel-Requena PDO.

The Utiel-Requena PDO wines are more intense in colour, less aromatic, and marked by very ripe fruits, lower acidity, higher tannicity (in the red wines) and a fuller body (in the red wines). As the stableness of their characteristics diminishes substantially with time, neither the category 1 or category 5 Utiel-Requena PDO wines keep as long as the wines produced in the demarcated Tharsys enclave.

Furthermore, in the ‘Tharsys’ enclave, cultivation and production must be organic and vegan, which also distinguishes wines from this geographical enclave from those produced elsewhere, which are not organic or vegan.

The applicant winery is the only winery in the demarcated area, but if in the future other producers comply with the product specification for this PDO, they may use its name.

9.   Essential further conditions

—

Link to the product specification

https://n9.cl/68jpm

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(1)  Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on geographical indications for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, as well as traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2019/787 and (EU) 2019/1753 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 (OJ L, 2024/1143, 23.4.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1143/oj).