The high-altitude village of Sabran takes some tracking down. Yet it’s one of those places that is “worth a special journey”, as the Michelin Guide would put it. This certified organic domaine nuzzles the foothills of the Cévennes amid the beautiful oak forests, fig trees, olive groves and rocky vineyards of the Rhône’s Gard department. With breathtaking views of Mont Ventoux, all of La Réméjeanne’s vines sit at altitudes between 200 and 280 metres, where the cooler climate and limestone-rich soils allow Olivier Klein to craft wines with an unexpected tension and vibrancy—what Andrew Jefford terms a “tissue-soft lyricism”, seldom encountered in the Côtes du Rhône appellation. In 1961, François became the first Klein to plant vineyards in Sabran’s poor, lime-strewn soils. He was succeeded by his son, Rémy, and Scandinavia-born daughter-in-law, Mia (who, for the foodies, makes a fig jam to end all fig jams.) It was under this couple’s unorthodox management that La Réméjeanne forged its reputation as one of the most avant-garde addresses in the whole Côtes du Rhône. Like his father before him, Olivier Klein has an infectious energy to match his undoubted talent for taming this remote outpost of the Rhône Valley. Certified organic as far back as 2010, La Réméjeanne is in its second year of biodynamic conversion. Klein uses natural composts and green manures to help boost microbial life and the health of his mineral-laced soils. Searching for perfect balance, he has also adopted a version of soft pruning, after Marco Simonit, that respects the vine’s sap flow. Few are as willing, or indeed happy, to lavish such attention to detail on this humble appellation as the Klein family. Meanwhile, Olivier’s graceful touch in the cellar borrows as much from the zeitgeist of the north as from the south. Klein’s work with sulphur borders on the homeopathic—the first dose is not added until after malolactic conversion—and Olivier is moving towards greater inclusion of bunches in his fermentations, believing this adds suppleness to his fruit while enhancing freshness in the context of the Rhône’s hotter, drier summers. At the same time, coinciding with riper seasons, maceration and extractions are ever lighter, in some cases lasting as little as six days long. The sum is a range of superbly pure, highly refined wines brimming with supple fruit, surprising freshness and plenty of lip-smacking, high-country character. These wines proudly speak of their place, and the value for money is hard to beat.