Garrigue (1988)
by Maître Parfumeur et Gantier

Garrigue is a very good scent and a refreshing change from the usual run of light summer fragrances. It opens with a bright sharp citrus accord—not exactly clean because the notes from the middle seem to rise up and dull the clarity of the citrus with a bit of herbal aromatics. This makes a more complex opening than a plain citrus would have and extends the opening into the herbaceous-wood base. Actually I think that there are only two stages to this fragrance—the citrus / herbal opening and the herbal / woody drydown: Both are very well done and each accord performs beautifully on the skin with its sillage and longevity. In spite of its performance on the skin and the attractive accords, it lacks that special something that separates it from being just another pleasant, well-made fragrance. I must repeat, though, that its performance on the skin throughout the day is admirable — I just wish the accords were more fetching to me. (Edit of 18 January 2007 review.)

Yea....it's an Et Gantier and it's well made, but so what? This scent has been done too many times and if you can find Garrigue for let's say....$50 or under for a 100ml, then I could see picking this up simply because it's an MPG.

This is in the same ballpark as what others are saying. ( Cool Water and GIT). A nice scent overall, but nothing I'll go out of my way for.

This makes me think of Cool Water, but less floral, more herbal, and with mineral salt. Not impressive at first blast as it resembles several fragrances which have been done since, but it grows on you. Masculine and refined. It's great with fuzzy wool weaters, as are most MPG fragrances. I suspect Laporte wears alot of fuzzy wool sweaters.

Safari? GIT? Cool Water?. I must have missed that meeting. I mean this has class and skill dripping from it unlike the aforementioned imposters. A really gorgeous citrus and herb mix that lasts forever. How this has slipped under my radar is a mystery. Jean Laporte was inspired with Garrigue.

excitedly sniffing my wrist as I booted up the laptop, I was all set to drop the bombshell that this was a stepchild of Green Irish Tweed. Well, the inimitable Vibert got there first. And I'm behind his review all the way.
However, dirtier though it may be, it lacks the longevity of the Creed kin. Also, topnotes are similar, but it's development isn't as aldehyde-y as the Creed, and for that I'm happy. An image comes to mind of the faceless drones in Pink Floyd's "The Wall." They might look slightly different, but it's really more of the same.
So, overall, it's not bad, but in my opinion, it's just banal. With that assessment, it should be said that I have higher standards for the "niche" offerings than their mass-market kith.
Thus, with some trepidation for coat-tailing on a master, I give this a neutral. Come on MPG, I love your line. You can do better than this.

Vibert, you are not alone. I thought the top notes were very similar to another aromatic fougere that's known as Cool Water. And the drydown reminds me of the aldehydic drydowns of many a Bulgari, especially Eau Parfumée au Thé Blanc just with a subtle licorice/greenish note added. It's an interesting accord all-together but not really spectacular.