Syrah & Aubergine
Syrah is one of the most versatile red grapes when it comes to reflecting where it's grown, and Famille Cécillon is a great example of that.
A fairly new listing for us, but one I'd been meaning to try for a while. Based in the Northern Rhône, with vineyards in Saint-Joseph and Hermitage, Famille Cécillon make some cracking Syrah, and this feels very much like their business card bottle.
It's an undisclosed Northern Rhône Syrah at a weekday price point, but with the finesse and structure you'd usually expect from a more celebratory village wine. Plenty of dark fruit, pepper and savoury character, but with enough freshness to keep you coming back for another glass.
The estate is run by husband-and-wife team Julien Cécillon and Nancy Kerschen, who founded the domaine in 2011 after meeting while working in California. They returned to Julien's home region to build something of their own, combining modern experience with generations of Rhône winemaking tradition.
Today the vineyards are farmed organically and the wines are made with a light touch, using native yeasts and gentle extraction to let the fruit and terroir do the talking.
As one of the Northern Rhône's rising stars, they've shown that you don't need centuries under the same label to make wines that leave a lasting impression.
What You'll Need
- 1 aubergine
- 1 bulb of garlic
- Black olives
- 1 slice of bread
- Half a bottle of white wine (I used an open bottle of Chenin Blanc)
- Dijon mustard
- Fresh thyme
- Fresh parsley
- Fresh coriander
- Greek yogurt
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Method
Start by setting the oven to 100°C.
Cut the top off a bulb of garlic and roughly dice a generous handful of black olives. Place the garlic, olives and a slice of bread on a tray and put them in the oven to slowly dehydrate for a few hours.
Meanwhile, prepare the aubergine. Remove the top and bottom, cut it in half lengthways and trim the rounded sides away so you're left with two rectangular wedges.
Line a tray with kitchen roll and sprinkle with salt. Place the aubergine on top, season again with salt and cover with more kitchen roll. Put something reasonably heavy on top and leave it to press while the moisture is drawn out.
Don't waste the trimmings. Put the aubergine rounds into the oven with the garlic and olives to roast.
The Sauce
Pour half a bottle of white wine into a saucepan and add thyme, parsley, coriander, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.
Bring everything to a gentle simmer and begin reducing.
Once the garlic and aubergine trimmings are roasted, add them to the pot. Two cloves of garlic is plenty.
Continue reducing until everything has softened and the flavours have come together.
Add a splash of water, then strain the mixture into a clean saucepan. Reduce again, this time quite aggressively, until it reaches a consistency similar to yoghurt.
Allow the mixture to cool before stirring through Greek yoghurt and a handful of roughly chopped parsley.
The Olive Crumb
Remove the crust from the dehydrated bread and crush it into breadcrumbs.
Mix with the dehydrated olives at roughly a 3:1 ratio of olives to breadcrumbs. Add a small pinch of salt and crush together until you have a coarse crumb.
Cook the Aubergine
Once everything has finished dehydrating, increase the oven temperature to 200°C.
Place the aubergine wedges onto a tray, dress generously with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 15-20 minutes per side until golden, crispy and tender.
To Serve
Spread the sauce across the plate first.
Top with the roasted aubergine, a generous drizzle of good olive oil, the black olive crumb and a scattering of roughly chopped coriander or parsley.
Serve with the Famille Cécillon Syrah and try not to eat all the olive crumb before the aubergine is ready.
Why It Worked
There was a lot lining up here.
The touch of sweetness in the Syrah was balanced nicely by the acidity in the sauce. The salty, savoury olive crumb played brilliantly with the peppery spice of the wine, whilst the smoky aubergine seemed to bring out more of the violet and dark fruit character in the glass.
It was one of those pairings where both the food and wine seemed to improve one another, and well worth the time it took to put together.
Maybe next time we'd add some Jersey Royals, halved and roasted in plenty of olive oil, on the side.
Julien Cecillon, Syrah 'Les Graviers'
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Badenhorst Family Wines Secateurs Chenin Blanc
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