Year: Unknown
Nose: James Heeley
One of my favourite fragrances ever since the very first moment I first smelled it, and one of my favourite leathers ever too. A marvelous, pastoral, mellow rendition of suede, with a lot of hay, a countryside landscape in a dense, crunchy, warm ochre colour, like in a Van Gogh painting. The "realm" is the recent wave of softer, more delicate leathers, like Cuir Ottoman (another all-time favourite of mine), centered on a silky, dense, rich suede note, which here is developed in Heeley's signature linearity with a remarkable balance between earthy/rural vibes, and a transparent, aerial, slightly shady and contemporary dimensionality. All sounds and smells with perfect clarity: a mossy vetiver/oak side, a delicate floral side, a crunchy green accord, a bunch of spices (notably pepper and clove), an incense breeze, an initially waxy base, and an overall warm, evening-like transparency, like a lazy afternoon in the countryside chilling with your back on a hay ball. I love this fragrance also because it does not shout and does not "wow" you at first, but it slowly captivates you, and most important, smells terribly good and versatile. Heeley's style is at its best here, the linearity and the clarity are perfectly executed, and as Darvant suggests below, I also detect a similarity with Iris de Nuit. A quite unique example of a lively, delicate leather scent that is not simply "light" and above all, not "dull", with a specific dense personality (which has its very nucleus in a tiny, but vivid heart of castoreum and rose). Sophisticated, subtly distinctive, highly safe and wearable – and also, decently priced.
9/10
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