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

Montecucco Sangiovese

PDO-IT-A1246-AM03

Date of communication: 7.11.2024

DESCRIPTION OF AND REASONS FOR THE APPROVED AMENDMENT

1.   Removal of the list of additional grape varieties

Description:

The list of additional grape varieties has been removed.

Reasons:

The removal of this list provides greater clarity in the definition of the combination of grape varieties stipulated in the product specification.

The amendment concerns Article 2 of the product specification but does not affect the single document.

2.   Removal of regional provisions

Description:

The paragraph regarding the Region of Tuscany’s management of production has been removed.

Reasons:

The removal is of a formal nature, since the requirements for the management of grape production are already regulated by national law.

The amendment concerns Article 4 of the product specification but does not affect the single document.

3.   Expansion of the wine-making area

Description:

The wine-making, drying and ageing area has been expanded to include an area near the production area and now comprises the entire territory of the province of Grosseto in the Region of Tuscany. It is now the same as the bottling area defined when the ‘Montecucco Sangiovese’ PDO was recognised by the Ministerial Decree of 7 July 2011.

Exceptions also apply in the Region of Tuscany, i.e. in the regional administrative unit where ‘Montecucco Sangiovese’ PDO is produced.

Reasons:

The amendment is necessary to give the opportunity of wine-making, drying, ageing and bottling to all companies that do not have a winery within the production area, but that own or manage vineyards within the production area.

This amendment concerns Article 5 of the product specification and Section 9 ‘Further essential conditions’ of the single document.

4.   Formal changes

Description:

Formal changes have been made in relation to regulatory adjustments and the description of the enrichment practice.

Reasons:

These are formal adjustments intended to improve the wording of the text.

The amendment concerns Article 5(2) and (4) of the product specification but does not affect the single document.

5.   Chemical characteristics of types

Description:

The provision that allowed the Ministry of Agriculture to amend the minimum limits for total acidity and minimum sugar-free extract has been removed.

Reasons:

The provision has been removed as it is no longer relevant to the applicable EU and national legislation.

The amendment concerns Article 6 of the product specification but does not affect the single document.

6.   Labelling - reference to the broader geographical term

Description:

A requirement has been added whereby the broader geographical term ‘Toscana’ [Tuscany] must appear on the label in addition to the protected designation of origin ‘Montecucco Sangiovese’.

Reasons:

The amendment makes it possible to provide precise information on the geographical origin of wines with the ‘Montecucco Sangiovese’ PDO.

This amendment concerns Article 7 of the product specification and Section 9 ‘Further essential conditions’ of the single document.

7.   Contact details of the inspection body

Description:

Change of address of the inspection body.

Reasons: update.

The amendment concerns Article 10 of the product specification but does not affect the single document.

SINGLE DOCUMENT

1.   Name(s)

Montecucco Sangiovese

2.   Geographical indication type

PDO – protected designation of origin

3.   Categories of grapevine products

1.

Wine

3.1.   Combined Nomenclature code

—	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 wines

Montecucco Sangiovese, including the Riserva

CONCISE TEXTUAL DESCRIPTION

Colour: intense ruby red, tending to garnet in the Riserva. Aroma: fruity and distinctive; broad, vinous, elegant and distinctive in the Riserva. Taste: harmonious, dry, slightly tannic; full, dry, warm, elegant, with possible hints of wood in the Riserva. Minimum total alcoholic strength by volume: 13,00 %; for the Riserva: 13,50 %; Minimum sugar-free extract: 25,0 g/l; for the Riserva: 26,0 g/l.

For all wines concerned, the other analytical characteristics are in line with the relevant European legislation.

General analytical characteristics

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

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

—	Minimum total acidity: 4,50 grams per litre expressed as tartaric acid

—	Maximum volatile acidity (in milliequivalents per litre): 20,00

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

5.   Wine-making practices

5.1.   Specific oenological practices

—

5.2.   Maximum yields

1.	Montecucco Sangiovese, including Riserva 7 000 kilograms of grapes per hectare

2.	Montecucco Sangiovese, including Riserva 49 hectolitres per hectare

6.   Demarcated geographical area

The production area for grapes intended for the production of wines with the ‘Montecucco Sangiovese’ controlled and guaranteed designation of origin includes quality wine-growing land suitable for vine cultivation in areas within the province of Grosseto in the following municipalities: Cinigiano, Civitella Paganico, Campagnatico, Castel del Piano, Roccalbegna, Arcidosso and Seggiano. The border of this area is demarcated as follows: In the north, the border starts from the intersection of national road 223 with the administrative boundary of the municipality of Civitella Paganico and follows it until it crosses, in a south-easterly direction, the administrative boundary of the municipality of Cinigiano near the Siena-Monte Antico railway line. From there, following the boundary of the municipality of Cinigiano, it continues east until it meets the administrative boundary of the municipality of Castel del Piano and along it in a north-easterly direction until it meets the administrative boundary of the municipality of Seggiano. It follows that boundary until it meets national road 323 at the bridge over the Ansitonia ditch and continues south along the 323 until it crosses provincial road 64 near the settlement of Castel del Piano. The demarcation then continues until where the road meets the administrative boundary of the municipality of Castel del Piano, continues along that boundary in a south-easterly direction along the Ente stream as far as the Peve bridge that crosses that stream, and continues northwards along provincial road 26 (Arcidosso) until it meets the administrative boundary of the municipality of Arcidosso. It follows that boundary until it crosses the Zancona stream in a southerly direction until it meets the administrative boundary of the municipality of Cinigiano south of the village of Monticello Amiata in Banditaccia. From there it continues along the Cinigiano boundary until it meets provincial road No 55 (Cinigiano-Stribugliano-Vallerona) and continues to the south-west along that road to the settlement of Stribugliano. It then runs in a south-westerly direction along the provincial road that joins the Cinigiano provincial road, as far as La Cavallino farm. From there, it continues as far as the Trasubie stream at the 308 m mark and then along the Istrico ditch in a south-westerly direction, to the 400 m mark, where it follows the inner road to the Pian di Simone farm, and southwards it links to provincial road 24 (Baccinello-Cana). It then continues in the Baccinello direction until it crosses the Orto di Boccio local road, which it follows until it intersects with the Atleta ditch. From there it follows the course of the Atleta ditch, the boundary rejoining provincial road 24. That road runs as far as the administrative boundary of the municipality of Scansano and then, in a westerly direction, as far as the administrative boundary of the municipality of Campagnatico near the Repenti farm. Along the boundary of the municipality of Campagnatico it continues south-west and then northwards as far as the intersection with the municipality of Civitella Paganico near Poggio dei Massani. Along the boundary of the municipality of Civitella Paganico it continues northwards to its starting point where it intersects national road 223.

7.   Wine grape varieties

Sangiovese N.

8.   Description of the link(s)

Wine category: Montecucco Sangiovese DOCG, including the Riserva

The hilly and foothill terrain of the production area, the loamy soils, rich in stones and skeletal soil, essentially resulting from the disintegration of sandstone, with excess water naturally draining away due to their origin and structure, the composition and nature of the soils, characterised by a mostly sub-alkaline or neutral pH, lacking organic matter and nitrogen, high in available phosphorus and moderately high in available potassium, together with a mild climate that is sufficiently rainy, ventilated, with a significant daily temperature range, are the conditions in which, throughout history, winegrowers have employed targeted agronomic and soil- and vine-management practices. Careful agronomic management, plantations well exposed to the sun, practices such as green pruning, thinning of bunches, high planting density and a quest for low production yields, have been combined with wineries set up according to the most modern technological criteria, with a view to obtaining a high-quality product based essentially on the Sangiovese variety, which in this area can produce highly characteristic wines that are fruity and slightly tannic when young, and well-structured, broad, full and elegant when older. Numerous study projects have also been carried out in the area, focusing mainly on the discovery, conservation and study of historical grape varieties, involving both local institutions and the University of Pisa. Over the centuries, vine cultivation has always been a primary activity within Montecucco’s agricultural economy. archaeological finds, monastic texts and statutes, parliamentary inquiries, university studies and centuries-old vineyards dating back to the time of the Etruscans attest to the strong link between the vineyards and the populations living there; today that link is reflected in the wineries present in nearly all of the area’s villages, and some of which have been dug into the rock, and in the festivals dedicated to the wine harvest or to the wine (e.g. that of Cinigiano has a history of around half a century). It is precisely on the basis of that established relationship between territory, wine and winegrower that, starting with the recognition of two geographical indications in the 1980s, the Sangiovese type was first raised to ‘designation of origin’ in 1998, and now the specification is recognised for the ‘Montecucco Sangiovese’ controlled and guaranteed designation of origin (Ministerial Decree of 9 September 2011, published in Italian Official Gazette No 221 of 22 September 2011), which covers both the ‘basic’ version of Sangiovese and the ‘Riserva’ version.

9.   Essential further conditions (packaging, labelling, other requirements)

production area and bottling area

Legal framework:

EU legislation

Type of further condition:

Bottling within the demarcated geographical area

Description of the condition:

The wine-making, ageing and bottling of wines with the ‘Montecucco Sangiovese’ protected designation of origin must be carried out within the Province of Grosseto.

production area and bottling area

Legal framework:

EU legislation

Type of further condition:

Derogation from production in the demarcated geographical area

Description of the condition:

Wine-making, ageing and bottling operations, including where they take place separately, are permitted in wineries located outside the above-mentioned area, provided that they are located within the administrative Region of Tuscany. These wineries must belong to holdings that - individually or collectively - use them to make wine from grapes suitable for the production of ‘Montecucco Sangiovese’ PDO wines obtained from vineyards in production.

In accordance with the relevant EU legislation, bottling or packaging must take place in the aforementioned demarcated geographical area in order to safeguard the quality and reputation of the product and to guarantee its origin.

reference to the name of the smaller geographical unit

Legal framework:

EU legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

The possibility of indicating ‘additional geographical units’ on the label, i.e. geographical indications and place names referring to municipalities and parts of municipalities, within the meaning of Article 120(1)(g) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and Article 29(4) of Italian Law No 238/2016.

reference to the name of the broader geographical unit

Legal framework:

In national legislation

Type of further condition:

Additional provisions relating to labelling

Description of the condition:

For wines bearing the ‘Montecucco Sangiovese’ protected designation of origin it is mandatory to indicate the broader geographical name ‘Toscana’ on the labelling.

Despite that obligation, labels that do not include the name ‘Toscana’ may still be used up, provided that they are only used for wines produced from the 2023 harvest or earlier.

This must appear in characters no more than ⅔ the size of those used to indicate the designation ‘Montecucco Sangiovese’.

The geographical name ‘Toscana’ must always appear below the traditional specific term ‘controlled and guaranteed designation of origin’ (written out in full or abbreviated to DOCG or D.O.C.G.) or the EU wording ‘protected designation of origin’, in the following order:

—	Montecucco Sangiovese

—	Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (or the abbreviations DOCG or D.O.C.G.) or Protected Designation of Origin

—

Toscana

The name ‘Toscana’ must be of the same font, style, spacing, prominence, colour and colorimetric intensity as the name ‘Montecucco’.

All the information listed must appear on a uniform background.

Link to the product specification

https://www.politicheagricole.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/22281

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(1)   OJ L 9, 11.1.2019, p. 2.