Review: 2022 Black Powder All Blacks Red Blend

The All Blacks Red Blend from California’s Black Powder at least has the decency to disclose that it changes personalities every year. In this vintage, the cast list includes 55% Grenache from Santa Barbara and Lodi, 38% Petite Sirah from Dunnigan Hills, and a cameo of 7% Cabernet from Napa, which is about as much of a California wine sentence as one can write.

The first sip plants a flag squarely in plum territory, with blackberry and rhubarb sidling in once the wine has had a minute to rest in the glass. It starts out all about exuberant fruit, then the Petite Sirah and Cabernet introduce calmer elements: notes of vanilla and a bit of dark chocolate, preventing things from getting too sweet. As it trails off, you get a streak of pencil lead and white pepper, then a return visit from the chocolate and plum as the earthier notes fade.

Nothing about this is truly complicated, but everyone on the blending sheet appears to have read the instructions, and the result feels easygoing and approachable without being flimsy. It’s a red that may be served with a slight chill in the warmer months, but still can show respectably next to something hearty on the table. Whether or not this is named in tribute to the New Zealand national rugby union team is certainly up for debate, but if it is? It certainly lives up to such an honorarium.

B+ / $30

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