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

‘Crémant de Die’

PDO-FR-A0487-AM02

Date of communication: 21 October 2024

DESCRIPTION OF AND REASONS FOR THE APPROVED AMENDMENT

1.   Labelling

In Section XII ‘Rules on presentation and labelling’ of Chapter I of the product specification, point 2 ‘Special provisions’ has been supplemented to include the labelling rules for referring to the broader geographical unit ‘Vignobles de la Vallée du Rhône’, as set out in the agreement signed between the protection and management bodies concerned. This information must appear in the same visual field as all the mandatory details, be printed in characters of the same graphic design and colour as those of the designation, and be no bigger than two thirds of the size of the designation.

This amendment has been added to the single document, under the heading ‘Further conditions’.

2.   Geographical area

In Section IV ‘Areas and places in which the various operations are conducted’ of Chapter I of the product specification, point 1 ‘Geographical area’ has been supplemented to update and correct the names of the municipalities, without amending the geographical area.

The municipalities of Aix-en-Diois and Molière-Glandaz were deleted and the municipality of Solaure en Diois was added.

This correction to the names of the municipalities has been added to the single document, under the heading ‘Demarcated geographical area’.

3.   Details of the inspection body

Section II ‘Reference to the inspection body’ of Chapter III of the product specification has been updated to specify that checks on compliance with the product specification must be carried out on the basis of an approved inspection plan and by a third-party body offering guarantees of competence, impartiality and independence delegated by the National Institute of Origin and Quality.

This update does not affect the single document.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

1.   Name(s)

Crémant de Die

2.   Type of geographical indication

PDO - Protected Designation of Origin

3.   Categories of grapevine products

5.	Quality sparkling wine

3.1.   Code for Combined Nomenclature

—	22 - BEVERAGES, SPIRITS AND VINEGAR 2204 – Wine of fresh grapes, including fortified wines; grape must other than that of heading 2009

4.   Description of the wine(s)

BRIEF WRITTEN DESCRIPTION

The PDO ‘Crémant de Die’ is used exclusively for white quality sparkling wines. ‘Crémant de Die’ is made from grapes of the varieties Clairette B (main variety), Aligoté B and Muscat à petits grains B (secondary varieties).

—	At least 55 % of the grapes used must be of the Clairette B variety. - At least 10 % of the grapes used must be of the Aligoté B variety. - Between 5 % and 10 % of the grapes used, and no more than 10 % of the finished wine, must be of the Muscat à petits grains B variety.

—	The grapes have a sugar content in excess of 144 grams per litre of must.

—	The wines are produced by second fermentation in glass bottles.

—	The wines have a minimum natural alcoholic strength by volume of 9 %.

—	After disgorgement, the wines have an excess pressure of carbon dioxide of no less than 3,5 atmospheres at 20 °C.

—	After the addition of the dosage, the wines have a sugar content, expressed as fermentable sugars, of no more than 15 grams per litre.

—	Where the must has been enriched, the actual alcoholic strength by volume of the packaged wines does not exceed 13,5 %.

—	The other analytical criteria comply with the values established in EU legislation.

This elegant sparkling wine has very fruity aromatic notes with characteristic touches of white flowers which distinguish it from other quality sparkling wines made in the Diois area.

General analytical characteristics

—	Maximum total alcoholic strength (in % volume) —

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

—	Minimum total acidity in milliequivalents per litre

—	Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre) —

—	Maximum total sulphur dioxide (in milligrams per litre): 150

5.   Winemaking practices

5.1.   Specific oenological practices

1.   Cultivation practices

Cultivation method

a)

Planting density — The area available for each plant does not exceed 2,20 square metres. This surface area is calculated by multiplying the spacing between rows by the spacing between plants. — The spacing between rows does not exceed 2,50 metres. — The spacing between plants in the same row is at least 0,80 metres but does not exceed 1,50 metres.

b)	Pruning rules The vines are either Guyot trained or spur pruned (cordon de Royat training), with a maximum of 12 buds per plant.

c)	Irrigation Irrigation may be authorised.

d)

Harvest — The wines are made from grapes harvested manually. — The time between harvesting of the grapes and pressing must be as short as possible. In no case may this period exceed 24 hours in the case of harvested grapes transported in boxes and crates, and 6 hours in the case of transport in agricultural trailers. — In the containers used for transporting the harvest, the grapes must not be piled higher than 0,60 metres. Harvest trailers with sides higher than 0,6 metres have permeable false floors fitted at the level of 0,6 metres from the top edge.

2.   Specific oenological practices

Specific oenological practice

a)	All oenological practices followed must comply with the requirements laid down at EU level and in the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code.

b)	The pressing sites must meet criteria concerning the reception of the grape harvest, the pressing facilities and presses, loading of presses, separation of juices and hygiene, as laid down in the specification.

c)	A limit of 100 litres of must per 150 kilos of grapes is applied for making the base wines intended to be used to produce the wines eligible for the protected designation of origin.

5.2.   Maximum yields

70 hectolitres per hectare

6.   Demarcated geographical area

The grapes are harvested and the wines made, processed, matured and packaged in the territory of the following 31 municipalities in the department of Drôme: Aouste-sur-Sye, Aubenasson, Aurel, Barsac, Barnave, Beaufort-sur-Gervanne, Châtillon-en-Diois, Die, Espenel, Laval-d’Aix, Luc-en-Diois, Menglon, Mirabel-et-Blacons, Montclar-sur-Gervanne, Montlaur-en-Diois, Montmaur-en-Diois, Piegros-la-Clastre, Ponet-et-Saint-Auban, Pontaix, Poyols, Recoubeau-Jansac, Saillans, Saint-Benoît-en-Diois, Saint-Roman, Saint-Sauveur-en-Diois, Sainte-Croix, Suze, Solaure en Diois, Vercheny and Véronne.

7.   Wine grape variety(ies)

Aligoté B

Clairette B

8.   Description of the link(s)

The geographical area is located to the south-east of the municipality of Valence. South of Vercors, in the valley of the Drôme river, the climate starts to show Mediterranean influences moderated by the nearby mountains. Vineyards developed here, planted mainly with southern grape varieties, specifically Muscat à petits grains B and Clairette B.

Human expertise has adapted these varieties, achieving optimal application on marly or limestone soils, on the serres [local term for slopes] and hillsides with their excellent exposure and drainage. The hardships and physical constraints enabled winegrowers to amass experience and know-how in adapting these varieties to different situations. The ‘black earth’ soils of marly schist and calcareous schist are the preferred terrain of the Muscat à petits grains B variety, which gives the wines richness, structure and aromatic strength. By contrast, the stony soils on the Quaternary terraces, the alluvial fans and scree beneath the limestone ridges are more usually reserved for the Clairette B variety. The latter variety is typical of Provence. Here, it is at the far edge of the area in which the climate is suitable for it to ripen. As a result, it brings acidity and finesse of vital aromas to sparkling and still wines.

Down the generations of producers, know-how has developed for making sparkling wines using different techniques. Having perfected the technique known as the ‘ancestral method’, they mastered the method of provoking a second fermentation in the bottle, adapted to produce ‘Crémant de Die’. With this technique, all production operations, from the harvesting of the grapes to disgorgement and packaging, must be carried out in the geographical area.

Despite the existence of the vineyards and a product with a reputation dating back to antiquity, for a long time wine from Die was little known, largely due to poor communication routes. Indeed, between the 15th and 18th centuries, the sparkling wine was mainly drunk where it was produced or in the nearby mountains of Diois, Dévoluy, Trièves and Vercors. This reputation in the surrounding regions can be considered proven by a text of 1748. A customer in Mens, a municipality of Trièves, ordering wine, wrote, ‘As I know that for the Clerete de Die, especially the good one, fermentation is always stopped before it is complete.’

In 1781, [French geologist] Faujas de Saint-Fonds wrote in his work Histoire Naturelle de la Province du Dauphiné (natural history of the province of Dauphiné): ‘In this province, wines of repute still exist, such as the sparkling wine of Die’.

In 1825, a négociant of the house Joubert et Bernard, established in Die, expanded his father’s business (tanning hides) by selling wines from his own property along with wines bought from winegrowers. The distribution of the wines began in the surrounding areas of the town of Die and was later organised to supply the municipalities of the Diois area. The business prospered and bought grapes in. The wine produced was dispatched, in lots of 110 litres, further afield to Nîmes, Grenoble, Avignon and Privas. However, the journey was long and perilous. The wine often arrived spoiled, if it arrived at all.

It was necessary to wait for the Drôme valley to be connected to the outside world, thanks especially to the arrival of the railway linking Die to the main Paris-Marseille line in 1885. That was when these distinctive wines became nationally renowned.

Certain aspects of their reputation are also linked to places within the geographical area, sometimes to a particular municipality. In his 1924 work A travers l’histoire des cantons de Crest et Châtillon (Through the history of the cantons of Crest and Châtillon), A. Lacroix wrote ‘On the western side of the rocky massif which almost entirely dominates this area, the sun ripens the grapes for a most agreeable sparkling white wine known as vin de Barsac ’.

At that time, the term ‘Clerete’ referred to a variety of white wines including still wines, and sparkling wines produced from partially fermented must or from base wines. All of them were made from the varieties Muscat à petits grains B and Clairette B, but the proportions varied.

In 1993, ‘Crémant de Die’ was legally recognised as a controlled designation of origin for one of the sparkling wines of Diois. This was in the context of the national policy to improve the quality and character of sparkling wines, based on more clearly defined techniques rules, especially concerning grape varieties, harvest and transport of the harvested grapes, pressing and winemaking. The elegant sparkling wine produced in this way has very fruity aromatic notes with characteristic touches of white flowers which distinguish it from other sparkling wines made in the area of Diois.

The beginning of the 20th century saw the disappearance of what little industry had existed, in fields such as fabrics, paper and silk. Subsequently, by 2010, wine production in Diois represented the principal economic activity in the valley.

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:

All 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, width or thickness, than twice the size of the letters forming the name of the registered designation of origin.

The labels of wines bearing the protected designation of origin may specify the larger geographical unit ‘Vignobles de la Vallée du Rhône’ under the conditions set out in the agreement signed between the protection and management bodies concerned.

This information must appear in the same visual field as all the mandatory details, be printed in characters of the same graphic design and colour as those of the designation, and be no bigger than two thirds of the size of the designation.

Packaging

Legal framework:

National legislation

Type of further condition:

Packaging within the demarcated geographical area

Description of the condition:

a)	All production operations, from the harvesting of the grapes to disgorgement, must be carried out in the geographical area.

b)	As the second fermentation in the bottle is part of the production process, the wines are packaged in the geographical area.

c)	The second fermentation in glass bottles, which produces the bubbles, takes place as of 1 December following the harvest.

d)	The wines are marketed to the consumer after a minimum ageing period of 12 months following the second fermentation.

Link to the product specification

https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/gedei/site/bo-agri/document_administratif-c75cd940-784c-4859-8578-5e3f2fcad5c0

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(1)   OJ L 9, 11.1.2019, p. 2.