Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1465 of 6 July 2021 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the definition of allusions to legal names of spirit drinks or geographical indications for spirit drinks and their use in the description, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks other than the spirit drinks to which allusion is made

‘3a By way of derogation from paragraph 1, in the description, presentation and labelling of a spirit drink other than spirit drinks complying with the requirements of categories 33 to 40 of Annex I, the allusion to a legal name provided for in a category of spirit drinks set out in that Annex or to a geographical indication for spirit drinks shall be allowed on condition that: (a) the spirit drink referred to in the allusion: (i) has been used as the sole alcoholic base for the production of the final spirit drink, which shall comply with the requirements of a category of spirit drinks set out in Annex I, (ii) has not been combined with any foodstuffs other than the foodstuffs used for its production or the production of the final spirit drink in accordance with Annex I or the relevant product specification, and (iii) has not been diluted by addition of water so that its alcoholic strength is below the minimum strength provided for under the category of spirit drinks set out in Annex I or the product specification for the geographical indication to which the spirit drink referred to in the allusion belongs; or (b) the spirit drink has been stored for the full maturation period or part of it in a wooden cask previously used to mature the spirit drink referred to in the allusion, on condition that: (i) the wooden cask was emptied of its previous contents for those categories of spirit drinks or geographical indications for spirit drinks for which the addition of alcohol, diluted or not, is prohibited, (ii) the allusion is made within the description of the cask used to mature the resulting spirit drink, (iii) the allusion appears less prominently than the legal name of the spirit drink or any compound term used, and (iv) by way of derogation from paragraph 4, point (b), the allusion appears in a font size no larger than the font size used for the legal name of the spirit drink or any compound term used.’;

‘4 The allusions referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 and 3a shall:’.

Spirit drinks referred to in Article 12(3a) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 which do not meet the labelling requirements laid down in that Article and in Article 12(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 as amended by this Regulation but which meet the requirements of Article 4 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2013 and were labelled before 31 December 2022 may continue to be placed on the market until stocks are exhausted.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 25 May 2021.