Vetiver by Etro

Year: 1989
Nose: Unknown

What an incredible vetiver. A salty, incredibly earthy, slightly humid vetiver note, warm and mysterious, with fascinating nuances of coffee, tobacco, incense, rich woods, a rarefied and captivating fog of smells and a thin sheet of old tanning leather. Utterly elegant, pleasant, refined, an oriental elusive potion with a bold modern personality, there is a slight contemporary feel (the salty note, the transparent incense) which brilliantly and silently flows among the timeless and romantic mysticism of the more "traditional" ingredients. While the very first opening reminded me of Annick Goutal's vetiver because of its humid and raw earthiness, the evolution is one of a kind, peculiar and superb, opulent and nondescript, with all these nuances brilliantly melting together. What fascinates me most is a veil of dusty, smoky and dense sweetness, somehow tobacco and somehow talcum, really noble and melancholic, narcotic and romantic, filled with the same Oriental elegance of Etro's patterns (at least, back then). Beautiful mineral/salty and discreet drydown. A solid scent, with a clear inspiration and great materials. Straight on the top of my favourite vetivers ever!

8,5-9/10

(my review is based on a vintage EDC bottle)