I mention this every time I write about Montale; subtle they are not. It probably says something about me that I own over a dozen of the metal bottles from the brand. The thing which I don’t think they get enough credit for is power is not just an exercise in increasing the amounts of the ingredients. There is a finer effort required to produce power with style. That is Montale’s stock-in-trade.
Patchouli
What I also enjoy in the Montale perfumes that I own is within all that presence there are teased out character I don’t experience in other perfumes with the ingredient in it. Two of my favorites which do that are Red Vetyver and Patchouli Leaves. Those perfumes are classic releases from the brand. When I received the new Vetiver Patchouli it felt like the child of those two previous releases.
Vetiver
Vetiver Patchouli opens with the vetiver in its greenest form. It is rapidly surrounded by mandarin and baie rose. They each find some of that undercurrent I spoke of earlier as they find threads of citrus and green to bring forward. This is a beautifully refreshing version of vetiver early on. It begins to change as carrot is used to give an earthy sweetness to capture those qualities in the vetiver. It dives right into the topsoil as the patchouli comes into play. This is that dark patchouli I so loved in Patchouli Leaves given a more vibrant cool partner in the vetiver which provides some points of light within the patchouli darkness.
Vetiver Patchouli has 14-16 hour longevity and average sillage.
If you do not enjoy dark patchouli in your perfume stay away because this is that type of patchouli as done by Montale. I find it a beautifully rich version of patchouli. What makes Vetiver Patchouli so good is the vetiver stabs that density with daggers of light. The vetiver as transformed by the mandarin, baie rose, and especially the carrot can find space within that depth the patchouli provides. This is going to be another addition to my shelf of Montale as I think it is their best release of the last couple of years.
Disclosure: this review is based on a sample I purchased.
–Mark Behnke
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