Pierre Guillaume. He's so good looking, he's kinda unforgettable. Strangely, it’s not his image that sticks in my memory but his work as a perfumer. And today it’s all about, his 2016 perfume called Indian Wood 11.1.
That’s right, Indian Wood 11.1. Guillaume numbers the fragrances in his Parfumerie Generale line, and the “.1” refers to fact that Indian Wood is a rework of his Haramatan Noir 11, which was launched in 2001.
The PG website says that Haramatan Noir 11 is “A pungent breath inspired by the Sahara… the spicy fragrance of a warm wind mingled with dried flowers, wood and salt, overlaid by a faint, refined fragrance of mint tea…”
While Indian Wood 11.1 is a reprise of “the same aromatic-spicy logic by associating peppermint with nutmeg and cardamom. The woody, exotic character of the composition is based on a triptych of oak moss, fir balsam and sandalwood, bound with a drop of coconut milk.”
For Pierre Guillaume, each fragrance in the line is a new stop in a journey to the heart of the PG style.
If Haramatan Noir 11 is the fragrance of a desert wind in Africa, Indian Wood 11.1 is the next stop on the journey: India.
When I was at the counter choosing between Haramatan Noir 11 and Indian Wood 11.1, I asked the sales associate which one she preferred. She said she liked them both but found Indian Wood 11.1 to be a bit more intriguing. Hmmm. I wasn’t on the market for intriguing, but I am always on the market for fabulous and so I bought Indian Wood 11.1.
It opens fresh and spicy from lemon zest and cardamom. A note of coconut milk gives it a milky sweetness. The spicy/sweet contrast is what makes the opening so captivating and is carried through to the heart of cool, refreshing, herbaceous peppermint, its pepperiness heightened by a note of spicy, sweet nutmeg. The green aspect of the peppermint threads to woods at the base: sandalwood, vetiver and fir balsam. The woods are light, not heavy, and rise up through the spices and the sweetness to create a lyrical, fragrant blend that goes on for hours. Fabulous.
Guillaume is the master of gourmand fragrances – he knows t how to take the sweetness to the precise moment where it still adds to the fragrance and just before it starts to spoil it. He makes the balance of sweet/spicy/woody in Indian Wood 11.1 so seamless and perfect, that it seems like it was easy to do. But then, isn’t that what talents do: make difficult things seem easy to do?
Another thing - I like that Guillaume revisits his fragrances, explores them, reworks them and takes them in other directions. If each fragrance is indeed a new stop in a journey then I can’t wait to make every fragrant stop along the way.
Indian Wood 11.1 is listed in our Decant Store. Decants are $5.00