The products referred to in paragraph 3(c) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 and used for preparing liqueur wines and liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication may have undergone, where appropriate, only the oenological practices and processes referred to in Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 or this Regulation.

However,

1. (a)

   the increase in natural alcoholic strength by volume may be due only to the use of the products referred to in paragraph 3(e) and (f) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008; and

2. (b)

   by derogation, Spain is authorised to permit the use of calcium sulphate for Spanish wines described by the traditional terms ‘vino generoso’ or ‘vino generoso de licor’ where this practice is traditional and provided that the sulphate content of the product so treated is not more than 2,5 g/l, expressed as potassium sulphate. These products may undergo additional acidification up to a maximum limit of 1,5 g/l.

Without prejudice to any provisions of a more restrictive nature which the Member States may adopt for liqueur wines and liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication prepared within their territory, the oenological practices referred to in Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 and in this Regulation shall be authorised for those products.

The following are also authorised:

1. (a)

   sweetening, subject to a declaration and registration requirement, where the products used have not been enriched with concentrated grape must, by means of:

   • concentrated grape must or rectified concentrated grape must, provided that the increase in the total alcoholic strength by volume of the wine in question is not more than 3 % vol.,

   • concentrated grape must, rectified concentrated grape must or partially fermented grape must obtained from raisined grapes for Spanish wines described by the traditional term ‘vino generoso de licor’ and provided that the increase in the total alcoholic strength by volume of the wine in question is not more than 8 % vol.,

   • concentrated grape must or rectified concentrated grape must for liqueur wines with the protected designation of origin ‘Madeira’ and provided that the increase in the total alcoholic strength by volume of the wine in question is not more than 8 % vol.;

2. (b)

   the addition of alcohol, distillate or spirits, as referred to in paragraphs 3(e) and (f) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, in order to compensate for losses due to evaporation during ageing;

3. (c)

   ageing in vessels at a temperature not exceeding 50 °C, for liqueur wines with the protected designation of origin ‘Madeira’.

The vine varieties from which the products referred to in paragraph 3(c) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 used for the preparation of liqueur wines and liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication are produced shall be selected from those referred to in Article 24(1) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008.

The natural alcoholic strength by volume of the products referred to in paragraph 3(c) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 used for the preparation of a liqueur wine other than a liqueur wine with a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication may not be less 12 % vol.

The list of liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin whose production involves the use of grape must or the mixture of grape must with wine, referred to in the fourth indent of paragraph 3(c) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, is given in Appendix 1 A to this Annex.

The list of liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin to which the products referred to in paragraph 3(f) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 may be added is given in Appendix 1 B to this Annex.

The products referred to in paragraph 3(c) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 and concentrated grape must and partially fermented grape must obtained from raisined grapes referred to in paragraph 3(f)(iii) of that Annex IV used for the preparation of liqueur wine with a protected designation of origin must come from the region whose name the liqueur wine with a protected designation of origin in question bears.

However, for liqueur wines with the protected designations of origin ‘Málaga’ and ‘Jerez-Xérès-Sherry’, the grape must, concentrated grape must or, pursuant to paragraph 4 of point B of Annex VI to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, the partially fermented grape must obtained from raisined grapes referred to in paragraph 3(f)(iii) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 obtained from the ‘Pedro Ximénez’ vine variety may come from the Montilla-Moriles region.

The operations referred to in paragraphs 1 to 4 of point A of this Annex for the preparation of a liqueur wine with a protected designation of origin may be performed only within the region referred to in paragraph 3.

However, as regards the liqueur wine with a protected designation of origin for which the designation ‘Porto’ is reserved for the product prepared from grapes obtained from the region delimited as the ‘Douro’, the additional manufacturing and ageing processes may take place either in the aforementioned region or in Vila Nova de Gaia — Porto.

Without prejudice to any provisions of a more restrictive nature which the Member States may adopt for liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin prepared within their territory:

1. (a)

   the natural alcoholic strength by volume of the products referred to in paragraph 3(c) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 used for the preparation of a liqueur wine with a protected designation of origin may not be less than 12 % vol. However, some liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin on one of the lists given in Appendix 2 A to this Annex may be obtained from:

   1. (i)

      grape must with a natural alcoholic strength by volume of not less than 10 % vol. in the case of liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin obtained by the addition of spirit obtained from wine or grape marc with a designation of origin, possibly from the same holding; or

   2. (ii)

      partially fermented grape must or, in the case of the second indent below, from wine with an initial natural alcoholic strength by volume of not less than:

      • 11 % vol. in the case of liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin obtained by the addition of neutral alcohol, or of a distillate of wine with an actual alcoholic strength by volume of not less than 70 % vol., or of spirit of vinous origin,

      • 10,5 % vol. for wines prepared from white grape must referred to in list 3 given in Appendix 2 A,

      • 9 % vol. in the case of a Portuguese liqueur wine with the protected designation of origin ‘Madeira’, the production of which is traditional and customary in accordance with the national legislation, which makes express provision for such a wine;

2. (b)

   the list of liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin with, notwithstanding paragraph 3(b) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, a total alcoholic strength by volume of less than 17,5 % vol. but not less than 15 % vol., where national legislation applicable thereto before 1 January 1985 expressly so provides, is given in Appendix 2 B.

The specific, traditional terms ‘οίνος γλυκύς φυσικός’, ‘vino dulce natural’, ‘vino dolce naturale’ and ‘vinho doce natural’ shall be used only for liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin:

• obtained from harvests at least 85 % of which are of the vine varieties listed in Appendix 3,

• derived from musts with an initial natural sugar content of at least 212 grams per litre,

• obtained by adding alcohol, distillate or spirits, as referred to in paragraph 3(e) and (f) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 to the exclusion of any other enrichment.

Insofar as is necessary to conform to traditional production practices, Member States may, for liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin produced within their territory, stipulate that the specific traditional name ‘vin doux naturel’ is used only for liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin which are:

• made directly by producers harvesting the grapes and exclusively from their harvests of Muscatel, Grenache, Maccabeo or Malvoisie grapes; however, harvests may be included which have been obtained from vineyards that are also planted with vine varieties other than the four indicated above provided these do not constitute more than 10 % of the total stock,

• obtained within the limit of a yield per hectare of 40 hl of grape must referred to in the first and fourth indents of paragraph 3(c) of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, any greater yield resulting in the entire harvest ceasing to be eligible for the description ‘vin doux naturel’,

• derived from a grape must as referred to above with an initial natural sugar content of at least 252 grams per litre,

• obtained, to the exclusion of any other enrichment, by the addition of alcohol of vinous origin amounting in pure alcohol to a minimum of 5 % of the volume of the grape must as referred to above used and a maximum represented by the lower of the following two proportions:

  • either 10 % of the volume of the abovementioned grape must used, or,

  • 40 % of the total alcoholic strength by volume of the finished product represented by the sum of the actual alcoholic strength by volume and the equivalent of the potential alcoholic strength by volume calculated on the basis of 1 % vol. of pure alcohol for 17,5 grams of residual sugar per litre.

The specific traditional name ‘vino generoso’ shall be used only for dry liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin developed totally or partly under flor and:

• obtained only from white grapes obtained from the Palomino de Jerez, Palomino fino, Pedro Ximénez, Verdejo, Zalema and Garrido Fino vine varieties,

• released to the market after it has been matured for an average of two years in oak barrels.

Development under flor as referred to in the first subparagraph means the biological process which, occurring when a film of typical yeasts develops spontaneously at the free surface of the wine after total alcoholic fermentation of the must, gives the product specific analytic and organoleptic characteristics.

The specific traditional name ‘vinho generoso’ shall be used only for liqueur wines with the protected designations of origin ‘Porto’, ‘Madeira’, ‘Moscatel de Setubal’ and ‘Carcavelos’ in association with the respective designation of origin.

The specific traditional name ‘vino generoso de licor’ shall be used only for liqueur wines with a protected designation of origin:

• obtained from ‘vino generoso’, as referred to in paragraph 8, or from wine under flor capable of producing such a ‘vino generoso’, to which either partially fermented grape must obtained from raisined grapes or concentrated grape must has been added,

• released to the market after it has been matured for an average of two years in oak barrels,