Brand: Montale
Basis: Original
Concentration: Eau de Parfum
Sex: Men's
Generally: A love-it-or-hate-it legend; few fragrances split a room faster
Season(s): Fall, Winter
Wear: Evening
Occasion: Evening, Date Night
Perfumer: Pierre Montale
Creation Date: 2006
Ingredients/Ingrédients : Montale does not publish the full INCI list for this fragrance online; it appears on the original bottle's packaging

Main Accords: Rose, Oud, Patchouli, Musky

Notes
Rose, Agarwood (Oud), Patchouli, Musk, French Labdanum, Mandarin Orange

The Scent

A dark, jammy rose planted on top of oud and a pungent, earthy patchouli, with labdanum and musk keeping everything dense. A flicker of mandarin at the start is the only concession to brightness. How the rose reads is contested: syrupy and almost overwhelming to some wearers, fresh rose water to others. What nobody disputes is the volume: this projects enormously and wears for the better part of a day, and most owners settle on a single spray.

Worth Knowing

Buy this to find out where you stand on big rose-oud, because there is no middle ground: the same bottle gets called a masterpiece and unwearable in the same comment thread. It is an evening and cold-weather fragrance with no office setting, and a 2ml here goes further than most, one millilitre of Black Aoud lasts a surprisingly long time.

Where It Came From

Released in 2006, and one of the fragrances most credited with bringing the rose-oud combination into Western niche perfumery. Two decades on it is still the reference point that new rose-ouds get measured against.

About Montale

Montale is the Paris house founded by Pierre Montale in 2003, built largely around oud and known for its aluminium bottles, which shield the juice from light and famously feel lighter in the hand than glass.

Hand-decanted from an authentic full-size bottle by Atelier Elemental. Not packaged, filled, or endorsed by Montale. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.