Not the law itself: Notice

Address https://gelex.eu/eli/EU/notice/C/2026/2421/oj@2026-04-27/en

Contents

1. Preamble
2. ☑
3. ☐

Product name Domfront Geographical indication type

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PDO

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PGI

GI

Sector

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Agricultural products

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Wines

Spirit drinks

Country to which the geographical area belongs France National authority communicating the standard amendment Ministry of Agriculture, Agri-food and Food Sovereignty Qualification as standard amendment The application for an amendment to the Domfront PDO does not involve any of the three situations constituting a Union amendment; specifically it does not:

(a) include a change in the name of the protected designation of origin;

(b) risk voiding the link to the geographical area;

(c) entail further restrictions on the marketing of the product.

The French authorities therefore consider that the application is for a standard amendment. Description of the approved standard amendment(s) Product description The main characteristics of the production method that defines the product have been added to the product description: unpasteurised, ungasified sparkling perry obtained through secondary fermentation in the bottle, made from pure juice of perry pears, grown in identified orchards in the geographical area. The term keeved, which referred to French legislation, has been removed and the conditions applicable to the Domfront PDO have been included in its specification. The wording of the analytical characteristics has been supplemented by or equal, in order to clarify the checks. Finally, carbon dioxide content as a measure of the degree of secondary fermentation has been replaced by pressure in the bottle, which provides another measure of secondary fermentation and is easier to check, as it does not require laboratory analysis. The target value has been set at a pressure level equivalent to the carbon dioxide value. The organoleptic description of Domfront has been clarified: colour has been replaced by visual appearance, intense has been added to pale yellow to golden yellow, and often with a hint of astringency has been added.

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The amendment affects the single document.

Definition of the geographical area The geographical area has been extended to three new municipalities (Le Housseau-Brétignolles, Saint-Aubin-Fosse-Louvain and Sainte-Marie-du-Bois) and parts of two municipalities (Bagnoles de l’Orne Normandie and Saint-Bômer-les-Forges). This section has been revised to incorporate this amendment and update the wording, including a reference to the French Official Geographic Code. The date of submission of applications for parcel identification has been brought forward from 1 April of year N to 1 November of year N-1 in order to allow for the procedure to be carried out at the appropriate time.

The amendment affects the single document.

Evidence that the product originates in the geographical area The traceability rules have been amended to enable better qualitative and quantitative monitoring of the production stages. The declaration of the parcel assignment of the orchards has been replaced by an orchard inventory to align with the (IT) reporting tools that have been developed. The declarations of intent not to produce and of resumption of production have been abolished. They were not used in practice. The deadline for submitting claims has been extended by 72 hours, to 8 days, to take account of non-working days and the workload during this period.

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The amendment affects the single document.

Description of the method of obtaining the product The wording has been revised to align it with those applicable to the product specifications for other cider products and associated control methods concerning the tending of orchards. In particular, it is now stated that The orchard consists of all those pear trees on the holding whose fruit may be used to produce Domfront. The list of pear varieties set out in the Annex has been included in the body of the text in accordance with the drafting instructions. The list has been supplemented with varieties that were left out in the previous version. In addition, some varieties may be designated under more than one name. These names have been added (e.g. de fer and poire de fer) so as to enable automatic verification of orchard inventories. It is stated that In order to preserve varietal diversity, the presence of pear varieties not included on the list above is authorised up to a maximum of 20 % of the trees in the orchard. The purpose of this measure is to allow trees of varieties not identified to be retained if that could be relevant in terms of adaptation. Their proportion in the blend is limited to 10 %. The training system is now described in terms of spacing between the trees and no longer in terms of the starting height of the branches on the trunk. Some amendments to the wording have been made to facilitate the checks. The rules relating to harvesting, which were inspired by the rules applicable to sparkling wines, have been simplified, as perry pears are a more resistant fruit than grapes in terms of drop height and storage height. The maximum storage period for pears before use has been deleted. Some varieties do not keep well after harvesting and must be used without delay, whereas others need a period of time between being harvested and being used to ripen fully. Defining a single storage period therefore made no sense. The yield is calculated as the average over two years to take account of the phenomenon of biennial bearing. The sugar content of the must, which reflects the ripeness of the fruit, has been replaced by density. The target value used is equivalent to the previous one. The use of density will facilitate the checks, as it can be measured by the operator without the need for laboratory analysis. The characteristics of the finished product have been removed from this section as they belong in the product description section. The transitional measures that ran until the 2030 harvest have been withdrawn.

The amendment affects the single document.

Details bearing out the link with the geographical environment This section has been reworked and amended to comply with the drafting instructions in force. In particular, an introductory paragraph has been added: The Domfront derives its specific characteristics from the soil and climate conditions of the geographical area, which are ideal for growing perry pear trees, and from local know-how in terms of the selection of varieties over time, in particular the Plant de Blanc variety, and the production of very fine perry pears.

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The amendment affects the single document.

Specific labelling details In the interest of simplification, the provisions in this section have been withdrawn. Only the regulatory provisions now apply.

The amendment affects the single document.

National requirements The table of the main points to be checked has been revised to incorporate the associated target values and specify the titles of the points and the associated control methods.

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The amendment affects the single document.

Name(s) Domfront Geographical indication type

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PDO

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PGI

GI

Country to which the defined geographical area belongs France Description of the agricultural product Classification of the agricultural product in accordance with the Combined Nomenclature heading and code, as referred to in Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 2206 – Other fermented beverages (for example, cider, perry, mead, saké); mixtures of fermented beverages and mixtures of fermented beverages and non-alcoholic beverages, not elsewhere specified or included Description of the agricultural product to which the registered name applies Domfront is an unpasteurised, ungasified sparkling perry obtained through secondary fermentation in the bottle. It is obtained from the fermentation of pure juice of local varieties of perry pears. Domfront has the following analytical characteristics:

its actual alcoholic strength by volume is equal to or higher than 3 %;

its total alcoholic strength by volume is equal to or higher than 5,5 %;

it has a pressure greater than 1,4 bars at 20 °C.

Domfront is characterised by an intense pale yellow to golden visual appearance, a balanced effervescence resulting from the finesse of the bubbles, and a wide aromatic range dominated by fruity and floral notes. Its palate is a balance of acidity and the sweetness of unfermented sugars, often with a hint of astringency. Derogations on sourcing of feed (for products of animal origin designated by a protected designation of origin only) and restrictions on sourcing of raw materials (for processed products designated by a protected geographical indication only) — Specific steps in production that must take place in the identified geographical area The pears must be grown, and the perry made, in the geographical area. Specific rules concerning packaging, slicing, grating etc. of the agricultural product the registered name refers to — Specific rules concerning labelling of the agricultural product the registered name refers to — Concise definition of the geographical area The geographical area extends over the territory of the following municipalities: Department of Manche: Municipalities included in their entirety: Barenton, Buais-Les-Monts, Le Teilleul, Saint-Cyr-du-Bailleul and Saint-Georges-de-Rouelley. Municipalities included in part only: Mortain-Bocage (territories of the delegated municipalities of Notre-Dame-du-Touchet, Saint-Jean-du-Corail and Villechien only). Department of Mayenne: Municipalities included in their entirety: Couesmes-Vaucé, Le Housseau-Brétignolles, Saint-Aubin-Fosse-Louvain, Sainte-Marie-du-Bois and Soucé. Municipalities included in part: Lassay-les-Châteaux (territory of the delegated municipality of Melleray-la-Vallée only). Department of Orne: Municipalities included in their entirety: Avrilly, Céaucé, Domfront en Poiraie, Juvigny Val d’Andaine, Mantilly, Passais Villages, Perrou, Saint-Brice, Saint-Fraimbault, Saint-Gilles-des-Marais, Saint-Mars-d’Egrenne, Saint-Roch-sur-Egrenne and Torchamp. Municipalities included in part only: Bagnoles de l’Orne Normandie (sections 0B, 0D, AH, AL, AS, AT, AV), Lonlay-l’Abbaye (sections AZ, BD, BE, BH, BI, BK, BL, BN), Rives d’Andaine (territory of the delegated municipality of La Chapelle d’Andaine only), Saint-Bômer-les-Forges (sections YA, ZR, ZT, ZV, ZW, ZX, ZY). Link with the geographical area Due to the predominance of deep soils having good water retention properties and regular rainfall throughout the year, the area covered by the designation suits the perry pear tree’s sensitivity to dry conditions. The milder temperatures in the demarcated region also limit the risk of frost for some early flowering varieties. The region’s soil and climate characteristics make the Domfrontais the ideal home for the perry pear tree and the only region in France where orchards of perry pear trees are still planted and farmed to a significant extent. The strong presence of perry pear trees and the diversity of local varieties have contributed to the emergence of an original cider product. In other Normandy cider-producing regions perry pears are available in smaller quantities and therefore often used to balance cider blends made from cider apples. Domfront, by contrast, is a perry, which means that it is made exclusively from perry pears. The quality and diversity of the local pear varieties allow for the production of the necessary blends. Centuries of cultivation of perry pear trees in the lower Domfrontais area have yielded a pomological know-how among producers, one of the results of which has been the propagation of the Plant de Blanc variety. The specificity of Domfront owes a great deal to the characteristics of this variety. The must obtained from pressing the Plant de Blanc fruit has an original flavour resulting from the balance between its acidity, richness in sugar and phenolic compound content. In addition, the clarity of the Plant de Blanc must makes slow, regular fermentation possible; this is essential for obtaining the final organoleptic characteristics. The fermentation of this must gives the perry its characteristic citrus-fruit, peach and confectionery flavours. However, although the Plant de Blanc is key to the balance of Domfront, the perry is often associated with other, less widely distributed varieties, which are added in limited quantities. This varietal association makes it possible to obtain products with the organoleptic characteristics of the Domfront type but which also reflect the genetic diversity of the area’s pear orchards and allow the annual climatic conditions to be taken into account, as not all varieties behave in the same way. Finally, the unique nature of the raw material, which is very rich in phenolic compounds, has led to the practice of fermenting the pulp in the vat, which renders the phenolic compounds in the grated rind insoluble and reduces the development of sediment in the bottle. In addition, secondary fermentation in the bottle has become widespread among producers in order to give Domfront its delicate effervescence while preventing alterations caused by oxidation. https://info.agriculture.gouv.fr/boagri/document_administratif-e31382e4-f301-4dab-95f3-b26de67d22db

Versions

1. 2026-04-27